Mar 23 2010 By Mark Goode
Parents and children take part in the Buggy protest
PARENTS campaigning to save Shortwood Infants School f rom closure h ave vowed to fight on e ven after the public consultation has ended.
Surrey County Council announced in February that they planto shut the school in Stanwell New Road, and on Friday the public consultation ended.
On the s ame day a n umber of parents held a buggy protest outside the school, and they’ve now s aid they w ill k eep on fighting u ntil the end.
Ian Winter, chair of the governors, said: “I t hink the council are hoping this campaign w ill all go a way and e veryone w ill lose interest. I u sed to work for a local authority and t hese kinds of tactics w ere used. We have a lot m ore campaigns planned for the future, such as p resenting a c ase at 10 D owning Street in April.”
Due to rainy weather on Friday, not all the moms with t heir push chairs could make the protest, but the organisers h ave s till deemed it a success.
Around 35 people s howed up, including six mothers with their prams, who started to march outside the school from 3.15pm, across the busy A30 and i nto Staines town centre.
Mr Winter said: “We w anted to s how how perilous it will be for parents who do not drive, because they will h ave to cross the A30 everyday.
“There is also veryTiny private transport in the area, so e ach day the mothers would have to cross busy roads to get t heir kids to another school. We have proof of how dangerous t hey are b ecause aMom had her buggy clipped by a automobile a w hile back, and a 12-year-old girl was seriously hurt in a near fatal accident on the A30 a few weeks ago.”
Jo Buckingham, a m ember of the Save Shortwood Committee, said: “I drive my children to school so I have n ever crossed the A30, but I must say, it was terrifying on Friday. TheAutomobilesgo by so quickly, and when you do cross the road, the pavements are very narrow.
“By the time we got to Staines town centre, some of the kids w ere exhausted. Do the council really anticipate a four-year-old to walk more t han four miles e ach day to get to school?”
On Thursday parents handed a 1016 strong petition i nto Surrey County Council, a long with parent feedback and a business plan outlying how they c ould k eep the school open.
The school has b een meeting w ith prospective parents to prove to the council t hat it remains popular.
A decision on whether to closethe school is due in May.
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