7:00pm Monday 2nd November 2009
By Juliette Astrup
FRUSTRATED parents calling for a secondary school for Swanage say they will move to start their own if the council doesn’t support them.
Action group Education Swanage wants The Purbeck School in Wareham to have a second campus in the town.
They object to Dorset County Council’s plans to change from a three-tier to a two-tier school system in Purbeck, forcing hundreds of Swanage children make the 10-mile trip to Wareham from the age of 11.
The group has submitted a 35-page document outlining their case – but claim the response from Dorset County Council was “underwhelming”.
They are now looking into starting their own locally managed school if the council shuns their proposal.
Spokesman Steve Tooley said: “A twin-campus school could enhance education in Purbeck yet officers appear closed to the possibilities, despite our showing them equivalent schools elsewhere that are thriving.”
The group is looking to Conservative leader David Cameron’s proposals to introduce Swedish-style independent state schools to Britain.
These would be set up and run by social entrepreneurs or local communities, receiving funding direct from central government on a per pupil basis – bypassing local education authority control.
Swanage campaigners have already been in touch with the New Schools Network, launched this year to promote plans for these schools.
Mr Tooley added: “We’ll continue to push DCC to give Swanage the twin-campus secondary school it needs until the door is finally closed.
“But Education Swanage is already making plans for a Swanage new school if needed, encouraged by the immense local support we have received.”
A spokesman for the Dorset County Council said: “We have not ruled in or out any option at this stage.
“We have to make sure that any proposal which goes out to public consultation is sustainable and viable for all children and young people across Purbeck.”
The county council’s cabinet will be asked to approve new proposals for Swanage and Wool in December before a formal consultation in 2010.
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