The fight to save St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Ryde has begun with a petition launched against the proposed closure of the school by the Isle of Wight Council.
As first reported by Island Echo last week, the local authority is making plans to shut down 4 Island schools in a bid to cut the number of empty spaces. This includes St Mary’s, Cowes, Wroxall and Gatcombe & Chillerton primary schools.
Stunned parents learnt of the news that the doors to St Mary’s, 1 of the Island’s largest Catholic schools, could be shut as soon as September 2024, without warning, reason or any formal communication or apology to parents from the Council first. Teaching staff claim they were also none the wiser, after being informed by distressed parents in frantic messages, only to find their jobs really were on the line during teaching hours.
The long-established Ampthill Road faith school, with a busy preschool of 28 pupils onsite is part of the Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth, who also appeared to be clueless to the Council’s plan, as Priests were informed by parents during Sunday Mass.
Determined to stay at St. Mary’s, quick-thinking Catholic couple Jack and Róisín Mullins-Jacobs swiftly drafted a petition in opposition. Live within hours on change.org, it gathered over 500 signatures in the first 24 hours and is now nearing 1,000. Furious parents have also quickly formed a working group called PROTECT in order to overturn the council’s decision, and set about investigating all possible issues and resolutions.
It’s said that around 200 children aged between 2 and 11 face possible school displacement, and auto-allocation.
Parents say they have been left feeling shocked, sad and confused at the decision to try to remove a well-attended school, with a packed preschool onsite. Many have been left feeling they have been led up the garden path, believing their child had a primary place until the age of 11, only to find they are not being offered the education they were promised.
Catholic Dance Teacher and mother-of-2 Róisín Mullins-Jacobs, who initiated the online petition, has said:
“We are horrified at the complete lack of respect we were shown as parents and educators by the Isle of Wight Council, our innocent children deserve a lot better. The council should be ashamed for treating such young children and their professional educators this way, we are united in the fight against the closure.
“Where there is a will, there is a way, we are gaining support every day and exploring all options. Catholicism is a serious religion representing 19% of the UK population, and it deserves to be respected if a parent chooses to educate their child within the faith.
“Whilst St. Mary’s is an inclusive school, we are not part of the Church of England, and the council must recognise this fundamental religious difference. It often feels that Catholics are an easy target. We are asking for respect and to be informed and consulted. We are defending our children’s right to stay at St. Mary’s and to be educated within their chosen faith. We oppose any decision to close the school.
“I for one fully intend to stay at St. Mary’s and I encourage all current and new parents to do exactly the same. This could be your school, your child, your area, your faith next, so please support us by signing the petition. Respect and protect our children’s education, because together we stand strong”.
To sign the online petition visit https://www.change.org/p/save-st-mary-s-catholic-primary-school-ryde-isle-of-wight.
Distraught parents and teachers now await a decision from the Council’s Cabinet members at a meeting on Thursday (8th June) at County Hall, Newport.
Certainly IF it were a Muslim school, then the ‘Goldring brigade’ would not be considering closure.
Easy to pick on decent normal people’s children whose parents have been here for generations paying taxes and truly belonging here.
It’s not a Muslim school, so why mention it? Scared of people who are better than you?
The clue is in what cold comfort wrote (IF) you dim wit
Are you saying that Muslims aren’t normal people?????
Cold Comfort is one of those racist nut jobs the Island seems to have too many of. Scared to use their own name too.
Perhaps comfort prefers to keep their head, or wishes to avoid being mown down, or has read about those gangs who only picked on young white girls to rape and force abortion upon to rape again.
I’m homeless and I’m a caulkhead and yet flats and bungalows are given to families, Muslims, Ukrainians etc etc and tbh I dont feel a massive infringement; I mean at first yes but in all honesty most of them if not all are escaping some pretty horrific things and I’m perfectly ok with giving a placement to them because that’s what being a modern brit is about, we help people, we muster up love and kindness and most graciously accept. You’ll never be satisfied until you only white people well I only want to see love, acts of kindness and constructive criticism, not blind fear based on how you want to see the world…
More xenophobic rantings from the racist pitchfork brigade. Thanks for ‘correcting my thinking’ for me.
Schools are run like businesses because of the way they’re funded. All boils down to money so I wouldn’t expect much from the petition.
Sadly this isn’t about St Mary’s. It’s about large vacancies at Oakfield school next door and St Francis in Ventnor, both much newer schools.
Good luck with your petition, let’s hope it works. St Mary’s is a great school.
Why bring religion into it ?
I presume that the other 3 schools to close are all C of E are they not ?
never presume; check it out. Most schools on the island are NOT C of E
Surely in modern, multi-cultural, Britain state education should be essentially secular. There is nothing wrong with the state funding faith schools if there is a shortage of places in regular state schools but, when there are excess places in the state system, how can it be justified in giving much needed funding to these schools at the cost of reducing the per capita student funding in the main system.
Teaching unions have been claiming a desire to improve funding and education standards as part of their strike action so I fail to see how they can object to reducing administration and maintenance costs and concentrating funding where it can, overall, be best used.
Find it quite amazing that a Catholic school should be low on pupil numbers.
I thought they never used French letters or the pill and were only allowed to dampen the sheets at the last minute?
Has the Pope changed the rules?
Or has the limit of two children getting tax credits had more sway?
Lol I think you’ll find most Catholics probably have sex outside the rule of the church. Just like with the monarchy we are realising that we are human being with thoughts and feelings and can make up our own minds without being force fed narratives that distills fears and repression. I’m a catholic but I certainly get peace and inspiration from other religions… you clearly only believe in yourself and the fact your slightly smarter than an ape lol
I think you’ll probably find that rather concentrate funding and resources into the remaining schools, they’ll just cut it altogether.
The catholic church can easily afford it why not state that?