Parent joy after school merger plan axed
CAMPAIGNING parents today notched a victory after Suffolk County Council took its first step towards an about-turn over plans to merge two primary schools.
Laurence Cawley
CAMPAIGNING parents today notched a victory after Suffolk County Council took its first step towards an about-turn over plans to merge two primary schools.
In cabinet papers released this lunchtime, members of the county council's decision-making body are being urged to drop proposals to merge Paddocks Primary in Newmarket with Houldsworth Valley Primary.
The call by education officers at the council comes after months of vigorous campaigning by parents of children at Paddocks Primary, who claimed a new enlarged school would be too large and children would be put at risk by extra traffic.
Instead, the county council's cabinet is being asked to extend both Paddocks and Houldsworth Valley.
Delighted parent Louise Hamilton, leader of the Save Our Schools group, said: “This is fantastic - the best news I've had for a long time. We are still waiting for the cabinet but it is very, very positive that they've taken what we have said on board. It is absolutely fantastic and definitely the right recommendation.”
Most Read
- 1 A12 reopens after air ambulance called to three-lorry crash
- 2 Suffolk campsite named among the best in the UK by the Guardian
- 3 'Like a Halloween scene' - huge caterpillar webs engulf hedges
- 4 Forbidden Suffolk: 6 places you can't visit in the county
- 5 Weather warning for Suffolk as thunderstorms expected to affect travel
- 6 Teenager arrested after six people injured on university campus
- 7 New hair salon opens up with its very own puppy on the premises
- 8 Men convicted of kidnap and rape of Ipswich girl
- 9 A12 and A14 set for upgrades after £200m investment in Suffolk roads
- 10 Suffolk town named one of the best places to go on holiday in the UK
The cabinet will meet to discuss the recommendation on February 5.