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How will your primary change?

Last week Southwark Council’s ruling executive voted in favour of five proposals affecting the primary schools of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe.

The proposals arose from an independent review of primary schooling in the area, carried out last year. If they were agreed we could see one school close, two more massively increase in size and many more primary and nursery places added on.

A public consultation will begin on Friday for six weeks. The executive will receive the results of the consultation in April and will then decide whether to press ahead with the proposals, by publishing notices. The final decision would fall in the summer.

Here WILL PAVIA takes us through the effects of the recommendations school by school. 

Galleywall would close

THE SCHOOL would stop recruiting new pupils in August this year. On the 31 December the school would close, its pupils moving to neighbouring primaries. Efforts would also be made to employ teachers elsewhere, but redundancy costs of £230,000 are expected. In the first eight months of 2006, the empty buildings would be refurbished, and in September Southwark Park Primary School would move onto the site, for two academic years, until 2008, while its Southwark Park site is refurbished. A feasibility study is underway into providing a new primary school on or near to the Galleywall site, to meet a projected shortage of places expected in the area by 2009.

The fifty-place nursery on the Galleywall site would stay open for the duration, and from August 2006 it would gain 25 extra places.

PARENTS AT Galleywall have been demanding that the council address the school’s poor academic record for years but many feel that this medicine will prove rather too bitter.

“As parents we feel let down,” said Bridget Barrett, a parent of two as well as support worker. Galleywall parents have met and will be organising a petition to fight the closure. “There is only one reason that Galleywall is closing – and that’s academic.

The building might not be the best but that is a side issue.

“I think a new school opening here in 2009 would be absolutely brilliant but no guarantees have been given. And besides, the children here now are going to be the losers. They need stability.”

Mrs Barrett would prefer to see a fresh start for the school with phased construction work whilst the children were on site.

Southwark Park Primary: Two years of trading places

THE NUMBER of pupils admitted to the school would be temporarily increased from 45 to 60 children for the years 2005/6 and 2006/7.

From 31 August 2006 pupils, staff and all would move into the empty Galleywall buildings, by then specially cleaned up and refurbished, while works are carried out on the Southwark Park Road premises to permanently enlarge the school building to cater for the “two form entry”. Two form entry means the school could take full classes of new pupils each year instead of the current one-and-a-half classes.

In 2008 the school would move back into the refurbished premises as a two form entry primary school. 

Eveline Lowe Primary - Enlarged?

HERE TOO, admission numbers would be temporarily increased from 45-60 from 31 August this year for two years.

The school can cater for the extra children by using “hutted accommodation” put up in the grounds while rewiring work is being completed. There will be consultation and feasibility studies into making the school permanently larger, a “two form entry” school, taking two new classes each year, instead of one-and-a-half. 

Grange, St Joseph’s RC (Bermondsey), Riverside, Albion: Moving up to two form entry and adding on new primary places 

OFFICERS WILL study the feasibility of increasing each school’s size to provide two entry forms. Another study may also recommend increasing the number of nursery places provided. In light of the Canada Water regeneration, the council will also consider providing extra places at Albion, or at Peter Hills, or in a new primary school in the regeneration area. 

May provide new nursery places

COUNCIL OFFICERS will study the feasibility of providing extra nursery places at all of the schools below.