Island Echo always welcomes letters to the editor, which may of course not reflect the views of the publication and its staff.
This letter to the editor is in response to the Isle of Wight Cabinet meeting in December, which confirmed the closure of Wroxall Primary, together with 5 further primary schools on the Isle of Wight.
Letter to the editor – 5th January 2025
“In light of the cabinet meeting on the 12th December 2024, which was witnessed by many members of the public and people who are directly affected by this illogical proposal. Some of us even witnessed the entire 7 hour duration.
Article continues below this advertisement “We have been left feeling completely helpless in our fight to save this school. As all that was evident in that meeting was a room filled with hot air and textbook answers from the place planning report. At no time was any question that had been asked given a fair and intelligent response. Everything was redirected to the report that holds multiple accounts of inaccuracy.
“Johnathan Bacon, Phillip Jordan, Ashley Whittaker & Jade Kennett gave absolutely no consideration to any of the questions being given, neither any fair and logical explanation or time to review the consultations that have been greatly requested.
“There has been no regard at all by the cabinet to any of the ideas and questions or major situations that have been put forward by all of us affected. Answers such as “We will look into that later” and “We are not going to do that, SHUT UP!” being bounced back at us like a ping pong ball shows absolutely zero sign of respect, maturity or intellect to the rest of us.
“We have zero faith or confidence in the findings of this proposal because right from the report to the words spoken out from authorities is illogical and false.
There is not one logical justification to shutting down this school, which I feel you are fully aware. Instead, you insist on having it your way whilst breaching our children’s human rights and putting their mental health at the forefront to satisfy your inaccurate report.“You are not willing to give us a resolution because you are all going against anything we say or do to save our school.
Article continues below this advertisement “Personally, I find the actions of the council and the cabinet very embarrassing and unprofessional; this opinion is shared by many. You are looking for
answers to what makes you all happy but not what is in the best interest of our children.“There is not one suitable reason that outweighs all of the opposition to shut down Wroxall Primary. You are not looking at the bigger picture.
“It is clearly evident to see why the Isle of Wight education system is ranked as the worst in the entire country. No other council would try to force such insult and disregard to any child/family or community like you are.
You know full well there are many, many ways Wroxall school can be saved and remain open. But to do that requires logic, safe guarding and respect and genuine understanding of the severe impact you are forcing on all of us affected.
“I know my feedback will just be another one on the pile. Because when it comes to the next cabinet meeting, I can guarantee we will get another ridiculous performance, hot air, insults and scripted responses by the cabinet committee and the toddler tantrums of Phillip Jordan.
“They are protecting themselves and embarrassing their own reputation. And our children are the ones left kicked out to the kerb with no where to go because the schools are already full.
“Leave Wroxall school alone!”
A directly affected parent with 2 children who love Wroxall Primary School
Right on the money, these policies break up communities, Wroxall is a school where parents queue to get their kids into. We need a Council that cares….
Those of us who have lived here long enough will no doubt remember the previous closures, followed by the building programmes to re-instate places lost in the previous ‘review’. The land will be sold to a very high bidder and then in a few years we will see another burst of births and perhaps even mass migration from the big place followed by another report (yawn) that calls for expansions, amalgamations and new builds to accommodate the growing needs etc.
Why not Close down parts of all affected schools, mothball them and protect them so that you can re-instate them when things change, as they most definitely will! I realise that this would require a little thought, but surely it is not outside the abilities of our council to adapt, rather than destroy.
I oppose Council Tax increases, yet they keep
coming.
If the school needs to close to save money,
then close it.
The school doesn’t NEED to close, don’t you get it, this is council hogwash from Jerk Jordan and his, yes let’s use the in phrase now, “far right gang”
As a tax payer with no link to the school I understand what you’re saying but my issue is I don’t know that I believe the cabinet have Produced any figures to clearly demonstrate their case. They’ve said that they will save money for each unused place but they’ve not mentioned only a couple of years ago they thought this school warranted spending over 2 million pounds on. They’ve have not calculated ( or if they have they’re not developing) the cost of closing the school ( redundancies etc), the cost of transport children to other schools, the cost of expanding schools to accommodate extra children ie mobile classrooms etc. it all just seems so rushed with a lack of transparency. They are closing a profitable school that is modern and has off street parking in favour of schools that are in debt and underperforming
Bacon is an asshole, he actually doesn’t care about anything, and as for jerk jordan, serial alcoholic and he really doesn’t have any respect for anyone except himself. This is a ridiculous decision, why not close down county hall I am sure these days there is absolutely no need for the leeches in there to have such a big building to talk about there expensive holidays and how cushy they are. GET RID OF COUNTY HALL.