We’ve been following the progress of Chale Primary School and the movement by many in the village to try and stop the school being closed by the Isle of Wight Council, as is currently proposed.
Chale Primary is a Church of England school, so many in Chale have been rather surprised that the church has not been supporting the population in their quest to save the school – until now.
Chale Federation Now Supported
VentnorBlog has had exclusive access to a letter from Tony Blackshaw, Diocesan Director of Education for Winchester and Portsmouth, which after a good page and a half of outlining the position as was, he gives hope at the end of the last sentence …
“The Diocese does not accept that Chale C. of E. (VC) Primary School can stand alone as a 4-11 Primary School, but will support the school in seeking a federation with others.”
Major shift
This is a major shift in position for Tony Blackshaw and has come about following a letter Chale father, Dave Botha, wrote to Arch Bishop, Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England, asking the head of the English church for help.
When Tony Blackshaw was at Chale Primary for its 165th anniversary in July last year he, in the words of Dave Botha, “announced to the shocked and outraged congregation that Chale Primary could be razed to the ground. When pressed, he admitted that he was in favour of closure.”
Dave Botha has previously contested the validity of evidence put forward by IW Council Schools Project Manager, Alex Moffatt, for the closure of Chale school, most recently taking it to the Local Government Ombudsman.
Petition to Parliament
Today representative from Chale Primary School are making their way to Westminster to hand in a petition to save Chale school to Andrew Turner at the Houses of Parliament.
Opinion
Hats off to Dave Botha and the many others in Chale for refusing to accept from the IW Council that Chale should be closed and their children have to travel to other schools on the Island.
