Letter to DCC from Gordon S. Rooke M.Ed, M.A. - former pupil of Stoney Middleton School

(by Webmaster <info@stoneymiddletonparishcouncil.org.uk> on 4th November 2006)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to protest at the possible closure of Stoney Middleton Primary School in the Peak District of Derbyshire. There are, I believe, a number of compelling reasons why the school should remain open.

Firstly, Stoney Middleton Primary School provides a good quality of teaching and learning for its pupils and has in recent years twice been offered "beacon" status. What is more the parents of current pupils are very happy with the education their children are receiving. Being a teacher for many years I have found that parents are usually very accurate in their assessment of a school and choose the best one for their children.

Furthermore, I believe it would be very short sighted to close the school just because numbers are low at the moment and predictions suggest this will continue. No-one knows the future and as there are several properties in the village that are vacant at the moment, numbers could rise significantly. Another school threatened with closure twenty years ago but which was kept open on appeal to the Secretary of State was Litton Primary School. It is now flourishing, taking pupils from a wide catchment area.

The proposed alternative of sending the children to Curbar school would in my opinion put lives at risk. The A623 is a busy road with a higher than average proportion of heavy vehicles. The road and pavement are narrow and vehicles frequently mount the pavements. Also five different roads would have to be crossed by parents and children.

Officials of the County Council quote the increasing costs incurred in educating pupils at a school of 21 pupils. However, there are other important factors which need to be considered and these cannot be quantifiable in monetary terms. If the school were to close the contacts with the village community would be lost forever. These are unique to the village and not transferable to another school. They include links with the traditional well dressing week - dressing the wells, maypole dancing, participating in Stoney Middleton Church activities such as the flower service. Also school activities such as environmental / conservation work at various sites would cease within the parish. As someone who went to Stoney Middleton Primary School for 6 years and lived in the village for the first 20 years of my life I realise the importance of place and how attached people are to their village. Curbar School may be only 1.4 miles away but the culture and historical traditions of the two villages are very different.

The Labour county council need to consider these important reasons for keeping Stoney Middleton Primary School open. Rather than suggesting the school closes it should be celebrating its success. Instead of proposing to remove the heart from the community it should be seeking to develop ways of maintaining and developing it.

Yours sincerely,

Gordon S. Rooke M.Ed, M.A.

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