Latest news with #schoolclosure
BreakingNews.ie
5 hours ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
101-year-old school with two pupils to close on Friday
A 101-year-old school that only had two students this year is to close on Friday. St. Oliver's national school in Stonetown, Dundalk, Co Louth is set to close its doors after the one sixth class student graduates. Advertisement Barry Og O'Brien (11) will start post-primary school in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan in September while his younger sister Sheila (7) will enrol in second class in the nearby school in Louth Village. Father of the two students, Barry, said he is saddened to see a school with such history in the parish close. Originally from Lisdoo, Barry and his wife Majella moved to the parish 21 years ago and four of his seven children were educated at Stonetown. "When we moved three of our children were already settled in school in Dundalk so we left them there but our youngest four all completed their education at Stonetown and were very happy there," he said. Advertisement "Hundreds of past pupils attended the 100th year anniversary celebrations last year and shared so many wonderful and cherished memories of their time here. Over the years, the numbers just dropped off until my two children were the last pupils in the school last September. "We did approach all the politicians for help and Peter Fitzpatrick did try and help by organising a meeting with the then education Minister Norma Foley. "We thought maybe we could get students bussed out from areas in Dundalk but unfortunately, the general elections were called and that was that. Peter retired from politics and the education ministry changed. "None of my children ever missed a day at Stonetown School and they left every morning and came home every afternoon with smiles on their faces. They were very happy there. Advertisement "Barry Og and Sheila will miss the school but they are happy to go to a new school with more students and new friends. I know the school couldn't carry on without students but I know it was a hard decision to be made to close it and it is a very sad day for the area. Ireland Electric Picnic to cost €25m to €30m to stage Read More In a statement the Department of Education and Youth said: "The decision-making authority for a school closure is the patron of that school. "Any proposal to close a school must involve consultation with all of the relevant stakeholders, parents, teachers, students and local communities and follow decisions taken at local level. "A proposed closure is then subject to the agreement of the Department of Education and Youth. "The Patron of Stonetown National School, Dundalk, Co Louth (roll number 16431Q) requested the closure of the school at the end of the current school year and the Department has agreed to this request. Where a decision is made to close a school, all relevant teachers are redeployed in time for the new school year.
BBC News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Southwark Council to close two schools over falling school rolls
Two primary schools in south London are set to close amid a declining birth rate and families leaving the Council has said it has made the "difficult" decision to shut down Charlotte Sharman Primary School in Elephant and Castle and St Mary Magdalene Church of England Primary School in Peckham at the end of August despite efforts by campaigners to keep them closed, this will mean eight schools will have shut down in the borough since 2022 the Local Democracy Reporting Service board of governors at each school have appealed to the council to come up with solutions to keep them open. The council leadership agreed to the closures at a meeting on Tuesday in line with recommendations made in a leader Kieron Williams said: "The two decisions that we have got to contemplate this morning as cabinet I know are very difficult ones for people who are very attached to their schools as I am to my children's schools, so we understand they are very sensitive decisions and difficult ones to work through."There were talks to merge Charlotte Sharman and another school called St Jude's Primary however this plan fell through and Charlotte Sharman continued to struggle online petition to save the school from closure which has received more than 1,000 signatures has accused Southwark Council of not fully exploring other options such as merging with another school, securing additional funding or increasing enrolment outreach. 'Very, very sad day' David Workman, chair of governors at Charlotte Sharman, told cabinet members: "Since last year we have been engaging willingly and effectively with the local authority to look at our financial situation and try and put mitigations in place."There are alternative options we have put forward and to not give us the time to act more decisively and creatively after those two lengthy processes which have taken our bandwidth as it were, is to possibly neglect what might be possible in terms of preserving the school community."Sonia Phippard, chair of governors at the St Mary Magdalene school, said it had served the community for 170 years and that the council's decision marked a "very, very sad day".
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Teachers to leave Yeadon school after closure threat
Teachers are set to leave a primary school due to its uncertain future despite a council reversing a decision to close it City Council said Queensway Primary School in Yeadon would shut at the end of this school year due to dwindling pupil numbers and financial the decision was put on hold after parents launched legal action. It is the second time the school has been threatened with closure since Mark Duce said he and other staff at the school had now made the "incredibly difficult" decision to leave amid the uncertainty. He said: "Despite the halting of the second consultation to close the school and due to the lack of clarity provided regarding the long-term future of Queensway at this stage, class teachers and myself have had to make the incredibly difficult decision to leave the school at the end of the summer."I am working alongside governors at present to ensure an effective leadership and teaching team is in place for September and will endeavour to share updates as soon as we are able to do so."We thank our parents and potential parents for their patience at this time."Fears were raised for the welfare of children with special educational needs after the council launched a consultation over the school's future. Law firm Irwin Mitchell then successfully challenged the closure decision, saying there were flaws in the consultation process, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Alan Lamb said the council should issue advice for parents of children to the school, which will now be open as normal in at an executive board meeting, he said: "What's been fed back to me is there has been a total lack of clarity. Very limited communication."However, councillor Julie Longworth said apologies had been given for the distress caused to teaching staff and families. "We have been in regular communication and conversation with the leaders in the school and also with the governors," she council said it has launched a "lessons learned" exercise to improve the way it would handle future school decisions.A report and recommendations will also be discussed by councillors on the Children and Families scrutiny board at a meeting on Wednesday 25 June 25. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Lack of transparency' over Wakefield Independent School closure
An independent school which has confirmed its imminent closure has been criticised by parents for "a lack of transparency" over the decision to a letter to families, Wakefield Independent School said that following a period of consultation it would close "with profound regret" on 3 July, blaming VAT on school fees, falling pupil numbers and other "financial pressures".Helen Purdy, whose 14-year-old son Leon is a pupil, said the news was a shock and parents should have been informed the letter, the school owner and chairman of the board of directors, Philip Hardy, said it had "explored all possible avenues to mitigate the impact" of the changes. Mrs Purdy said: "You can't fault the teachers and staff but the way it's been managed has been terrible. We had no idea this was coming. "There's been no communication really from the school since this happened and we feel like we've just been left by ourselves to figure out what to do next."Mrs Purdy said Leon had thrived at the school but it was disappointing his time there had ended in such a way. 'Heartbreaking decision' "There hasn't been a lot of transparency to be honest since this first came out in May," she added."They should have been more open with parents about what has been going on behind the scenes so we had a chance to decide what to do for the best."Mrs Purdy said she had chosen to send Leon to Wakefield Independent School because of his health problems and it had been a "wonderful environment" for said because the fees were low in comparison to those of other nearby private schools which were more than twice as much, remaining in the independent sector was not an option for the family."There are a lot of pupils at the school with additional needs and there's just not that kind of support and provision in a lot of state schools."Another parent, Suzy McCartney, said her 13-year-old son Aaron had flourished as a pupil there and the decision to close was "heartbreaking". "I do feel for the school but I do think they should have been more upfront about the difficulties rather than just sending a letter out saying school was closing."The school said the " difficult decision" had been made "after a comprehensive review of the school's financial situation", according to the well as the VAT on fees and rises in NI contributions, it said "an increase in business rates along with minimum wage increases had made it unsustainable for Wakefield Independent to continue operating into a new academic year". The school also said it had been served with a notice from its landlord, the Nostell Estate, to propose a new lease, which had contributed to letter said it was providing support to staff members and was "working hard to support children and parents in choosing schools across all the local authorities we serve and to make the transition process as smooth as possible".A spokesman for the Nostell Estate said they were saddened about the closure and sympathised "with parents and families who have been placed in a difficult position".The spokesman said the estate had "actively supported the school for more than 30 years" and had been "trying to agree new leases with the school".They added: "We put forward a number of suggestions to assist them and were disappointed that the school could not agree to our proposals."We reluctantly served the school with a non-hostile formal notice that set out a timeframe in which the estate and the school could agree a new lease. "We wanted the school to stay. We were only three months into that 12-month period when the school announced its prospective closure."The school is the latest in a number of others across Yorkshire to announce its Fulneck School in Pudsey and Queen Margaret School for Girls' in York have announced their closures because of financial difficulties. Wakefield Independent School did not respond to a request for further comment. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
School closes due to Totnes water supply issues
A school in Devon has been forced to close due to a burst water main which has cut off its water supply. Some people in Totnes have reported having little or no water and South West Water said it hoped to restore the supply in the next three to four hours. Stoke Gabriel Community Primary School said it had closed due to the issues. A spokesperson for South West Water said it was undertaking "emergency repairs" to fix the issue. More news stories for Devon Listen to the latest news for Devon Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ South West Water
