Primary school closure formal notice is issued
Braybrooke Primary School
EDUCATION bosses have announced where pupils will be distributed from a traveller-dominated school which is being closed down.
The legal framework is now in place to close Braybrooke Primary School, with August 31 confirmed as the closing date.
It will allow its 22 pupils to start the September term at another school.
Northamptonshire County Council is shutting the school, in Church Close, because it says the school is no longer financially viable. A consultation on the closure was held in October last year and a statutory notice has now been issued to formalise the move.
And in a legal public notice issued last week, Northamptonshire County Council has now outlined the next steps in the closure process. It also announced for the first time where pupils from Braybrooke will be going.
They will attend Havelock Infants and Junior Schools in Desborough, Loatlands Primary School in Desborough and Clipston Primary School.
Last year Ofsted inspectors ranked Braybrooke as good, saying teachers had developed excellent relations with pupils and their parents.
But it warned that attendance among pupils was poor.
A Northamptonshire County Council spokesman said on Monday: “The publication of statutory notices last week signalled the beginning of a six-week period where formal representations can be made to the council.
“That period lasts until Thursday, February 14, and following that, a final decision will be made by the county council on whether to close the school.
“If the closure goes ahead there will be a need to find school places for the children who currently attend Braybrooke.
“We’ve assured parents that school places can be found close to the home addresses of all current pupils.”
She said the council has already held some constructive meetings with staff at the Havelock schools, Loatlands and Clipston.
The final decision on whether to close the school will be made at a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday, March 12. Members of the public will be allowed to attend.
Former Braybrooke pupil Oliver Jelley, of Harborough, who went to the school from 1986 to 1993, said: “It represents an end of an era for a school that was once at the heart of the community, but sadly drifted away.
“It would have been nice to send my son Archie to the same school that I went to.
“I have very fond memories of going to Braybrooke School and playing cricket there. It’s sad that it’s closing but you could see it coming years ago.”
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Thursday 23 May 2013
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