Church School to Close As Pupils Vote With Their Feet

By GRAHAM DAVIES Daily Post Staff

A MERSEYSIDE school has announced its intention to close, only months after converting to Church of England status to secure its future.

Parents of pupils at Ainsdale Hope CE High received letters from Sefton Council at the weekend explaining the school could shut within two years because of financial problems.

It follows a disastrous start of term for the 32-year-old establishment, which only attracted 45 pupils last month despite a massive refurbishment programme.

Just 366 children now attend the 650-capacity school, which has led to a financial crisis.

If the closure goes ahead it would leave Ainsdale without a secondary school, and children would have to go to schools in Birkdale, Formby and Southport.

The Diocese of Liverpool expressed its “great regret” at the announcement, while parents last night spoke of their concern about the uncertainty of their children’s futures.

Nurse Denise Wood, 43, from Ainsdale, and her husband, Keith, 42, a company director, have sent their three daughters to the school.

Mrs Wood said: “I feel very strongly that it should stay open. Two of our daughters left with excellent GCSE grades and Jessica, who is in year eight is doing very well.

“But I’m a bit perturbed about what options are left open to us. If she can’t be in Ainsdale, what are the other alternatives?

” She added: “We sent our girls to Ainsdale High because it is a small, family-oriented school. It will be a damned shame if it closes.”

The school, previously called Ainsdale High, was taken over by Liverpool Diocese this year. It was hoped its Anglican status, as well as redevelopment programmes, would help tackle declining numbers.

But education officials last night admitted it did not have the money to continue for more than two years.

On Thursday, November 3, councillors on Sefton’s cabinet will be asked to agree to a “managed closure” of the school starting in August, 2007. A consultation with parents, staff and governors would take place, and include arrangements for Ainsdale children, and the effects on neighbouring schools.

The Liverpool Diocesan director of education, Jon Richardson, said: “This is a most disappointing announcement for everyone involved with Ainsdale Hope.

“It has been a small school for many years, but has always provided a very good standard of education for its pupils, and is a very caring, close-knit community.

“Unfortunately, small schools are always more vulnerable than a large one in this sort of situation, as they have little room to manoeuvre in a budget crisis.”

Alan Irving, Sefton’s director for schools and young people, said: “This is a very focused proposal because of the situation the school has found itself in.

“The intake at Ainsdale Hope CE High is continuing to fall and our forecasts have shown that the school will not be viable within two years.” Politicians blamed the situation on market forces encouraging schools to compete for pupils.

John Pugh, Lib-Dem MP for Southport, said: “Even though parents have bought new uniforms and thousands of pounds has recently been spent on the school building, tragically the governors can still see little option but to close.

“Under previous arrangements the Local Education Authority would have stepped in long before this financial crisis to ensure that Ainsdale parents retained the option of a good, local mixed-sex secondary school. “Now schools are left to sink or swim under the new system of competition and independence with the council involved only when serious difficulties become terminal.

Ainsdale needs and deserves more than this.”

Cllr Simon Shaw, Lib-Dem spokesman on schools finance, appealed to governors, council officers and Liverpool Diocese officials to come up with an alternative solution to closure.

He said: “The closure of this school would be a tragedy. If Ainsdale High does close, this would mean that there will be no mixed non-Catholic secondary school between Formby, to the south, and Meols Cop and Stanley high schools in the north of Southport.

“Losing this school would represent a serious loss of parental choice, particularly for those in the Birkdale and Ainsdale areas of Southport.”

Ainsdale Conservative councillor Brenda Porter added: “A final decision hasn’t been made yet, but we need some proper answers as soon as possible so that parents and children know there will be the right places for them. They shouldn’t have this hanging over them during the Christmas break