Letter: Schools the life blood of community

Unfortunately, the lack of parents at the open evening at Rhyn Park School was not a surprise to me.

In my experience, parents will be exploring their options to relocate their children to another school – if the local catchment area puts one's future under threat.

The vote, held by St Martins Parish Council concerning the issue of merger, did not have a unanimous result and comments made by a representative on this council sum up the thoughts of only a portion of them "Putting a sticking plaster on Rhyn Park does not help."

It appears that the parents of St Martins, Gobowen and Weston Rhyn have a choice, either to support Rhyn Park and resite Ifton Heath or keep Ifton Heath open. This action would result in the loss of a secondary school, with the possibility of their children being transported further afield for their education.

The differences between the schools are: Ifton Heath was built in around 1914. It is a campus comprising of two building styles, one is the main school and the other is portable classrooms. The main hall has not got the capacity to house all the pupils and their parents at one time. From a parental viewpoint, the road running parallel to the school is dangerous.

Rhyn Park School has all the facilities to create a good educational establishment on one site – sports hall, swimming pool, playing fields for rugby, football, athletics and hockey, theatre, good parking and vast room for expansion.

Recently it received good Ofsted reports and examination passes are rising.

In my opinion the cost of keeping Ifton Heath open would ultimately result in the closure of Rhyn Park – after all, it could be possible to resite Ifton Heath on the Rhyn Park site and create a new amalgamated school for all.

In my view there is no contest, unification of both schools is the future and the only way forward. All schools are the life blood of any community.

Alderman Bill Jenkins

Oswestry