The future of Chillerton & Rookley Primary School has been secured as it is confirmed the Isle of Wight Council’s plans to close the rural school have been scrapped.
Councillor Debbie Andre, cabinet member for children’s services, education and lifelong skills, has announced that the Council won’t be proceeding with issuing a public notice to commence the amalgamation of the school with Godshill Primary, which would have led to the closure of Chillerton.
Not only will the school remain open, but Cllr Andre has asked Council officials to ensure the school is well supported moving forward so that it has the necessary capacity to deliver the shared ambitions for Island children.
Education Officers are now investigating options as to how to support smaller and more rural primary schools across the Island so that they can be sustained during periods of falling numbers and financial challenges, particularly in light of the Government’s new White Paper on education.
Statement for Cabinet regarding the future of Chillerton and Rookley Primary School
Councillor Debbie Andre has said in a statement:
“We believe that schools are one of the fundamental pillars of a community and that they play a vital and central role in village life, especially within our rural communities. There are social as well as economic benefits to children of primary age attending local schools with small classes.
“We intend to honour those commitments and in line with our corporate priority of providing local schools for local children, I can announce today that Chillerton and Rookley Primary School will remain open, and we won’t be proceeding with issuing a public notice to commence amalgamation with Godshill leading to closure.
Article continues below this advertisement “This announcement ends the uncertainty around the future of the school, and we hope that more parents will want to apply for places at their local school, confident that there will be continuity in their child’s academic journey.
“Throughout this period of uncertainty, the headteacher, staff and governors have continued, under difficult circumstances, to maintain the quality of education on offer at both Godshill and Chillerton and Rookley and I would like to pay tribute to their professionialism”.
Good luck to them, but they will have their work cut out, as they only build housing estates in Ryde.