Island Echo always welcomes letters to the editor, which may of course not reflect the views of the publication and its staff.
Letter to the editor – 20th January 2025
“As a taxpayer with no emotional links to the schools earmarked for closure, I have been deeply disturbed with the number of inaccuracies people have brought to light that have been glossed over or worse totally ignored.
“Recent revelations in the press that the IOW council didn’t do sufficient research into their own proposals relating to ownership of three of the sites they are planning to close adds to my massive concern with the process.
Article continues below this advertisement “The Isle of Wight Cabinet seem indecently hell bent on pushing this through before they are disbanded in May instead of pausing, allowing the full council a say and ensuring complete transparency. As a tax payer I welcome the need to address surplus places on the island but I believe it needs to be a whole island review of schools (including academies), looking at financial sustainability, school numbers, Ofsted reports and the costs associated with maintaining the school.
“It seems incomprehensible that only a few years ago the council saw fit to spend over £2 million on Wroxall school and now sees its only option as closing it. If they didn’t know a few years ago that the school wouldn’t be viable, how can they be so confident that in a few years the reverse won’t happen again, and they’ll be spending more taxpayer’s money searching for new premises.
“I don’t think many dispute the council may need to close some schools but surely, they should look at those that need extensive maintenance because of their age or those that don’t conform to modern heating/ventilation standards or those that need adapting to meet the needs of disabled children (as Wroxall already has been adapted).
“Now they can no longer use some of the sites they had planned for SEN etc why not review the decision to shut Wroxall and look at some of the options the parents out forward such as opening specialist SEN provisions within the school, its already fit for purpose and been adapted to meet the needs of these children and it has plenty of safe parking for parents to drop off their children.
“This decision would also have the benefit of supporting the “presumption against the closure of rural schools “
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Penny D
Isle of Wight
Why cant they leave them open but utilise empty classrooms for other uses
If savings need to be made then the Council should
make sure any school that is surplus to requirements
is closed down.