Swanage children may be forced to attend faith school (From Bournemouth Echo)

Swanage children may be forced to attend faith school

9:54am Friday 16th January 2009 in Search

SWANAGE parents could be the first in the country to have no choice but to send their children to a faith school if restructuring plans go-ahead.

Dorset County Council is consulting over proposals to swap from a three-tier to two-tier education structure in Purbeck to remove 1,000 surplus places, and that could mean the closure of several schools.

One of those is Swanage First School – the only non-faith school for children aged four to nine in a 16-mile radius.

If the plans go ahead, the 140 children from there, along with those at St Mark’s CE First School, would be sent to a new primary on the current middle school site in Herston.

That would leave only one school within the town itself – St Mary’s Roman Catholic First School – and no non-faith school at all.

It is thought it could be the only situation of its kind in the country.

Mum-of-two Elaine Pearson said she was not anti-faith, but wanted options for parents.

She said: “At the moment there’s choice for everybody, whatever your faith – or if you haven’t got a faith, you’ve somewhere to go in Swanage.”

The county cabinet member for children’s services, Toni Coombs, said the process was at an early stage and no decisions had been made.