Hands Off Shirehampton schools

Lead Petitioner: Joanna Prescott and Paul Harrod

Status: new > draft > rejected > accepted > collecting signatures > waiting submission > submitted to council > Pending owner response > closed > withdrawn

Status: waiting submission

Petition

The petitioners request that Bristol City Council rules out any closure or merger of primary schools in Shirehampton.

Background Information

This petition is in response to reports that Avon Primary School and St Bernard's RC Primary school could be earmarked for closure or merger.

We believe that small schools work best, particularly at primary level.

Young children thrive in a small, intimate, and non-threatening environment. There is considerable evidence that children achieve higher levels of attainment in smaller schools. There is also the advantage that many more children are able to walk to school with their parents, thereby reducing the number of car journeys.

We do not believe that the Labour Council has given sufficient evidence to justify school mergers and closures.

Some economies of scale or costs savings do not justify school closures, or the impact they would have on the local community and on our children.

We also reject any proposals the Council may have to create extra school places elsewhere in the City by cutting school places in Shirehampton.

Shirehampton is a thriving community, with considerable numbers of families moving into the area. We need to keep our local schools and ensure that they remain cornerstones of our community.

The Labour Council's Primary Review has been another example of poor consultation and flawed policy.

It has caused great anxiety and distress to a large number of pupils, parents and school staff across Bristol, and opposition to the principle of school closures in a thriving city such as Bristol is growing.

This petition is focused on Shirehamptom schools but we support groups elsewhere in the city that are leading the opposition to other proposed closures.