FRESHWATER PARISH COUNCIL welcome the IW Council’s new proposal in the West Wight Schools consultation. We are pleased that the recent report acknowledges the need to keep a primary school in Freshwater – the largest village in the West Wight with almost 6,000 residents.
Freshwater’s All Saints School is the only school in the Government’s Priority School Building Programme 2 – and millions of pounds of capital funding for the children of the West Wight will be lost if the Freshwater site permanently closes. In addition, the retention of the All Saints site will rebalance primary school capacity towards the communities where most people live, enabling more pupils to walk or cycle to school and the investment of funds to establish a new, energy efficient building in the heart of the village – fit for education in the 21st century.
We appreciate that no village wishes to see a school closed. But, with the right support, educational standards and school management can, and must be, reformed and improved. A geographically central site, once closed and sold, cannot be brought back.
Anne Bamford, Chair of Freshwater Parish Council, said “The proposal of a new school with low energy costs is clearly what is needed for the future generations in our village and represents a substantial investment in our area”.
