Parents and pupils will walk together to Whitby Pavilion on Wednesday evening (8th March) to have their say about plans to close the town’s Eskdale School.
The public meeting is one of two being held on Wednesday as part of a consultation on the plans put forward by governors to amalgamate Eskdale with Caedmon College. The meetings are being held at 12.30pm and 6.30pm.
Campaigners from the Keep Choice in Whitby and Save Eskdale School group will be carrying banners and placards to walk together in solidarity.
They will gather outside Clara’s cafe on the West Cliff from 5.45pm-6pm and are inviting the whole community to join them to walk down to the Pavilion for the meeting once everyone has arrived.
Concerned Caedmon parent Emma Wilcock said:
“The walk that has been planned is a way of expressing our concerns as parents of present and future pupils and it will also be a fantastic way of getting real time on the issues that the campaign has raised.
“It's really important that all parents are involved in stopping this amalgamation.
“Just because the plan is to close Eskdale doesn't mean it won't impact children already at Caedmon and children who will be planning to attend in the next two academic years.
“Those of us with children in Year 5, who had made choices on secondary schools, now find ourselves in a limbo and it isn't acceptable.
“Many of us visited Eskdale, Caedmon or both in Autumn 2022 and some of our children already picked where they would prefer to go. They made a choice and now that choice is being removed from them without them even being considered or consulted.”
Sonya Kilpatrick who has a child at Caedmon and another at Eskdale added:
“We would like the Whitby community to get involved with the consultation to have their say on our children’s education and future of our schools.
“This will effect each and everyone of the children of this town as well as the generations to come.”
The public meetings are part of a six week consultation period on the Whitby Secondary Partnerships plan to amalgamate Eskdale School with Caedmon College Whitby from September 2024 with the new school set to operate across a split site.
The consultation period offers parents and local residents to have their say.
The proposal would result in the closure of Eskdale School which has been met with concerns and anger by many parents and the local community.
The Governors say the proposal is a result of low pupil numbers and significant financial challenges. They say a considerable amount of the budgets is spent on maintaining the two sites when it could be spent on curriculum and teaching resources.
The consultation period ends on 31st March 2023.
The consultation can be completed online at https://consult.northyorks.gov.uk/snapwebhost/s.asp?k=167542956340
North Yorkshire County Council have published background information at https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/proposal-amalgamate-caedmon-college-whitby-and-eskdale-school-1-september-2024
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