We always welcome a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from Steve Cowley, Lee Farm, Wellow, Yarmouth. Ed
Vix Lowthion says that she does not want to see any schools close in the West Wight. I agree with her on this. Yet it was Daniel James, chair of the local Green Party, who proposed ‘moving’ Yarmouth School to Freshwater, which would result in the closure of Yarmouth Primary with disruption to the children’s education and, in my view, irreparable damage to the community.
This plan was discussed by Freshwater Parish Council of which Vix Lowthion is a member and Daniel James is Vice Chair.
Keeping a school in Freshwater
Closing Yarmouth School and moving it to Freshwater was their best option for keeping a school in Freshwater. Freshwater parents and community had not been supporting their school, whose pupil numbers had dropped drastically as it had not been providing a good education for local children.
The consultation for the proposal to close All Saints’ has just closed. Now that All Saints’ is Ofsted rated ‘Good’, why are Vix Lowthion and Daniel James not campaigning to keep it open?
The elephant in the room
Maybe the elephant in Freshwater is the half promised, not guaranteed, funding for a refurbished school. New buildings do not guarantee a good education for children.
A good school is one well supported by its parents and local community, and statistically, it is likely to be a small school such as Yarmouth.
Time we invested properly in our children’s education
My concern is that all West Wight children get the best Primary School education available in this time of austerity, which will continue under this Government’s spending plans. It’s certainly time we invested properly in our children’s education, SEND and their teachers’ pay.
Although budgets will be cut again next year, smaller good schools will still deliver a good education where they are supported socially and financially by local communities in which they are embedded, as is Yarmouth Primary.
