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Monday, December 10, 2007 | 07:52
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AN MP has given his backing to a campaign to save a rural middle school from closure.
Tim Yeo, MP for South Suffolk, visited Clare Middle school, near Sudbury, on Friday to speak to parents campaigning for the school to be turned into a new secondary school.
Suffolk County Council wants to closure the middle school as part of its reorganisation programme.
But recently the authority said education bosses had considered the cost of all options for the Clare school - including the option of creating a secondary school in the town. Currently, youngsters from Clare go to secondary schools in Haverhill or Sudbury.
Mr Yeo said: “I am fully supportive of the idea of a new secondary school in Clare.
“I believe this would best serve the interests of the town and the surrounding villages and is clearly preferable to bussing eleven-year-old boys and girls to schools in Haverhill.
“I am delighted the county council has accepted that a new secondary school in Clare is a real possibility.
“They clearly recognise the considerable merits of this proposal or they would not have seen fit to suggest it at all.
“Our task now is to make this their preferred option. And if the local community get behind the idea they have my full backing.”
Public meetings organised by the county council as part of the consultation process, are coming to an end but people are still encouraged to make their views known.
Meetings run until Wednesday in Lowestoft and Haverhill.
However, anyone who wants to give their views on the options can do so up until January 18 when the consultation period ends.
All views given during the consultation period will help inform the decisions made by Suffolk County Council's Cabinet in March.
For further information on the review visit www.suffolk.gov.uk and follow the links or call 0845 6066067.
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