A secondary school in Swanage

Day 117

15 September 2009

Anyone who doesn't live in Purbeck - specifically Swanage or the surrounding small villages - will possibly read this post and wonder what all the fuss is about. Most people in most large towns and in city areas take it for granted that they have close access to a secondary school. In many towns, one could argue that a closure of a school would perhaps not have a large impact on the community around it, since the number of schools to choose from within a short distance from home is enough to have a choice in the first place.

Swanage is different. Not confined to the usual problems of catchment areas (and the higher house prices near to outstanding/well-performing schools) or supply and demand issues, parents of primary aged children have had a pick of four first schools to send their children to. Currently there is a three-tier (first school, middle school, and upper school in Wareham, ten miles away)system operating in the Purbeck area, which Dorset County Council (DCC) are changing despite a huge opposition from many residents in Purbeck, earlier this year. DCC say that due to the falling numbers of students attending the schools throughout Purbeck, that closure of the middle schools and some of the first schools is necessary. The opposition resulted in DCC acknowledging that the consultation process needed to be reopened in order to discuss the options regarding maintaining the first schools in Swanage and Wool; and the consideration of a secondary school in Swanage.

The town of Swanage has a population of 10,000. If it were to be changed to a two-tier system, then 800 pupils aged 11- 16 will have to travel 10 miles to get to school every day. At present (and as it has been since 1974 when Swanage Grammar school closed), pupils aged 13- 16 are transported on buses along an A-road, without adult supervision apart from the bus driver who, for obvious reasons, is not expected to have a pastoral role with the passengers.

If Swanage became two-tier, then it would be the only town in the country to not have a secondary school in its own location or close by. This goes against the grain of improving the health and well-being of children, of whom the Government want to encourage to walk or cycle to school as part of a more ecological, economical, healthy and sustainable future.

This is Swanage Grammar School. It closed in 1974 after the town was changed from a two-tier to a three-tier system. Many believe that this would make an ideal site for a secondary school. DCC aren't so sure.

My daughter, looking slightly bewildered as I explained to her that this was once a school.

The building is unsafe for use, but how long can it stay as it is?


The thing is, it IS a viable option to have secondary education in Swanage; it IS our right as parents and as members of the community to ask for a proper consideration for a school to be built within Swanage that would cater for children up to the age of 16 and which will provide them with a high standard of education in an environment rich with history and geographical marvels, which attract thousands of visiting pupils from all over the country each year (nearly everyone I spoke to about Swanage before I moved back here had been down here once on a school field trip), and more importantly, our children deserve to have a school within walking or cycling distance from their homes to benefit their physical well-being, their own environment, and their right to be able to stay in bed an extra half an hour instead of having to get out to catch the bus!

Swanage has enjoyed a resurgence of young families in recent years. The internet has allowed parents the chance to work from home; the fantastic schools, the coastal attractions, the quietness, the quaintness and the quality of family life has had a beneficial impact on the structure of the town. Swanage is a beautiful place to bring up children. If the schooling is changed,it is a certaninty that there will be a significant number of parents who would leave.

If you have a child at any of the first schools in Swanage/Langton, and you agree that there should be a secondary school here, please go to the open sessions at each of the schools in the next couple of weeks, and put your views into the suggestions box. Despite what some may say, we DO have some influence and we CAN ask for change to suit us, not what DCC say they want. The first schools in the area are also under serious threat of closure. A campaign by the parents of Swanage First School earlier this year (the only non-faith, community school in the town, and which had been given an outstanding OFSTED report) resulted in DCC having to rethink its plans to close the school in the two-tier process. So do stand up for your child's first school and for your community!