Maidensbridge school must be properly evaluated before discussing closures

11.46.11am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 14th Oct 2005

Maidensbridge Primary School, which could be closed under plans from the Local Education Authority (LEA), lacks important evaluation data that has not been provided by OFSTED. The LEA has claimed that falling student numbers - supposedly 133 by 2009/10 - will force closure.

Liz Lynne, Lib Dem MEP for the West-Midlands, who will be visiting Maidensbridge Primary School on Friday said,

"It seems unreasonable to assess a school for closure when the last OFSTED inspection was in 1999. It is even more worrying when results from the school have been remarkably good - it was listed as the number three school in recent SATS results of the 82 Dudley Primary Schools.

"We often hear about schools having financial difficulty or the academic standards deteriorating, but this is not the case with Maidensbridge. They have significant reserves set aside for further school improvements on top of an already generous programme of expensive upgrades. It seems preposterous to close a school that has had substantial investment in facilities and is already making strong returns in academic performance.

"If Maidensbridge were to close, it appears that there would not be sufficient space for the displaced pupils. This entire consultation is being approached in the wrong manner - not all the data has been collected and the consequences of the closure have not been taken into account."

ENDS.