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- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
Parents vow to fight school closure
Friday 17th October 2008, 11:45AM BST.
Hundreds of angry parents have vowed to fight plans by education chiefs to close a Black Country secondary school.
Around 400 parents, pupils and supporters – some in tears at the news – packed a meeting last night to discuss a plan to save Sneyd Community School in Bloxwich.
Head Dr Sean Sweeney said he had organised the emergency gathering to hear the views of parents, who say they have been kept in the dark by decision-makers at the council and Serco, the private company that runs schools in the borough, who have been discussing the plans since at least May.
Discussions on the future of the school were only revealed when a source leaked papers to the Express & Star just over two weeks ago. Yesterday we revealed how the council’s cabinet is next week set to propose a consultation on how to handle the closure, which is due to be in 2010 or 2011.
Dr Sweeney told the meeting: “This is a ridiculous proposal. A consultation on closure is just a deal already done behind the scenes. That is not consultation. There is passion for this school.”
He said he had been given no answers about the specialist maths and computing college after meeting with education bosses earlier this week. “To have a proposal to close is one thing, but they have no solution,” he said. “A proposal to close with no answers to questions is an insult to your intelligence.”
The plans will see the Vernon Way site start a staggered closure next year. Falling pupil numbers and poor results have been blamed for the decision.
But head girl Holly Butler, aged 17, and head boy Matthew Cope, aged 18, achieved top GCSE grades and are on track to gain good A levels at the school which was among the most improved in the borough. Holly said: “I’m speaking from my heart. Not one student at the school wants it to close.”
At the meeting parents signed a petition and pledged to take part in a protest when the cabinet meets. Buses will be hired to take supporters from the school at 4.30pm next Wednesday to the Council House.
Chris White, aged 48, of Haley Street, Short Heath, said: “Consultation is no good. We need negotiation.”
Vicky Hodson, aged 38, of Lower Farm, Bloxwich, said: “I am worried that if primary schools are already advising their Year 6 pupils not to pick Sneyd, the intake will be low next year. And if the school gets a reprieve this time what steps will be taken if the proposal is brought again next year?”
Louise Miller, aged 29, said she was concerned whether the protest action would make any difference.
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Sneyd is a very good school with a bad reputation. A friend of mine has worked there for a couple of years and she loves it there. She says that the staff are the best that she has ever worked with and that the children are brilliant. There has been a massive improvement in pupil behaviour over the last 18 months and this will be reflected in the marks that they achieve in the next couple of years. If they get the chance!!!!!
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I’m a former Sneyd pupil and can’t believe that there are plans to close the school down. Surely something can be done to save this great community school? It will be a very sad day if the closure goes ahead, I have such fond memories of my times at Sneyd. Good luck to all the parents & pupils in their efforts to keep the school open.
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What about all the other users of the school my childs infant/junior school come to have weekly swimming lessons, what happens to these children who are getting used to Sneyd school and all the staff.I also use the astro turf which is a great asset to the school site for extra income HAVE THESE PEOPLE REALLY DONE THERE HOMEWORK..
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I fail to see why there seems to be a concerted effort to destroy this community. The youth club has gone, now the school is under threat. This is an improving school with alot of dedicated and enthusiastic teachers. The council should be ashamed of themselves. Stand up and hold the full coucil meeting you have promised the school.Give the community something to be proud of.
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As an ex-student and ex-teacher I am gutted and sad to hear this news. I no longer live in the area but it was a great place to work and an excellent school in the past. There are far worse schools in the area! Sneyd is a relatively modern 1980′s building which ahas been extended. What will they do with it? Bulldoze, sell it for housing and make a load of money? Geographically Pool Hayes and The academy in Bloxwich are far apart, and can’t surely absorb the pupils? Why can’t the school be given a chance to see the results of the Head’s actions to improve? No wonder nationally we are struggling to find Headteachers!
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Ah, I see some more clever joined up thinking again from Education Walsall or SERCO – whatever they want to call themelves this week.
Sneyd is the newest school in Walsall (with the exception of the Academy) with fantastic facilities such as the astroturf, the sports hall, swimming pool & a lake. Can somebody please tell me which other school – including the wonderful(!) academy can boast such facilities in Walsall? This plan makes no sense at all. Why not plan to close Willenhall or Pool Hayes which were built for education 60 – 70 years ago? Results are what schools are judged on – so why not look to perhaps federate Sneyd with another higher performing school and then maybe merge to two schools together at some point if the demographics mean a fall in the numbers of Secondary school age pupils. Walsall seems to be the opposite of many other LA’s who are Building Schools for the Future – Walsall seem to be intent on closing a good school for the future! Can somebody at SERCO please explain the decision rather than hide behind the Political nonsense? Anybody with half a brain knows that this decision STINKS of political propaganda and that SERCO obviously have some sinister plan for the Sneyd School site.
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I work at Sneyd and I absolutely love the place. Our kids are the best in the borough and I feel personally insulted by SERCO who think that we will take this lying down. I challenge these people; who have been meeting secretly since May, to come to the school and face our parents, students and staff! I urge the councillors, who will meet next wednesday, to remember that this company; who they have just awarded a 12 year contract to, have lost their Bradford contract and are causing ructions in the Liverpool / Warrington area to consider why they have failed to make all the relevant details available to all. Why not consider federation or down sizing the school in light of the falling numbers ACROSS THE BOROUGH. Think about why Sneyd, which is the newest council run school built in the area, should be the school marked for closure. Consider why our school should be closed when we have one of the best point scores for 6th form students. They say our standards are falling, yet the MFL, Performing Arts, Health and Social Care and English results have markedly improved. How is it that we came out of special measures two years ago without a category, yet they are saying that we have not improved. I think the politics behind this scam are shameful. You are dealing with kids, kids who we care for EVERYDAY they are not statistics or as one SERCO woman suggested red dots on a map! I LOVE MY SCHOOL AND I’LL SEE HELL FREEZE OVER BEFORE I LET SOME BUREAUCRATIC IDIOTS CLOSE IT DOWN. PARENTS,STUDENTS AND STAFF make a stand and make it to the council offices next Wednesday 5pm.
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i think this is a very stupid idea im an en pupil myself and have 2 children at sneyd that are in years 7and 9 my eldest has special needs and has only this year really settled in and i think it would be very unfair to disrupt and unsettle him my daughter has just started sneyd and loves it too serco need to see sense
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As a former pupil at this school I too am sad to see that it now faces closure.
I was never treated as a child there but as a young person who was responsible for my own outcome, encouraged to do well not for the benefit of the school and its reputation but for myself. In saying that, Sneyd had a strong sense of community and pride amongst it’s pupils and staff where where good performance was rewarded and poor performers given support and encouragement as opposed to being ignored.
EVERY pupil was a potential success story and worth making the effort for.
There was always an emphasis upon gearing pupils towards life in “the real world” through practical application of the things we learned, being a place to learn not only ABC & 123 but also instilling within its pupils a sense of morality and respect for others.
The result being that it’s pupils left as mature, polite, articulate, confident and ambitious young adults.
Many who left around the time I did now have high paid jobs or are performing well in higher education, some working on or attaining their PhD’s.
I sincerely hope that Sneyd is still the school it was when I attended.
If so it will be a severely detrimental loss to the local community if it does indeed close.
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we dont care what the coucil say because we are going to fight for our school and it will stay open as i am a pupil in six form and although this will not affect me the lower pupils wont get to have the memories and the education that ive had and that isnt happenin so SAVE OUR SCHOOL
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I taught at sneyd a decade ago and experienced appalling management and zero support for new teachers in their early career. I moved on to other challenges and now enjoy my work in education teaching those who ‘wish to learn’ which I did not experience at Sneyd. There were significant ‘behaviour problems’ that SMT did not sort out so hence special measures as has been noted and now closure is needed in my opinion. I am a vastly experienced education professional with 15 years experience and the sneyd was the worst school that I have worked in…
Shut it down yesterday I say
B Prescot Bsc(hons)PGCE QTS DMS
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There is a now a facebook group called “Save Sneyd Community School from Closure”. It was started after this meeting and now has 311 members. Please have a look and join it.
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why close this school this school the best i have lots of freinds and i dont want to lose them so if the cabanet closes the school then they are very stupid
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I am a pupil of Sneyd Community School, when i heard the news i was destraut, my friendship would be lost and my education would be ruined. Serco have made a big mistake to think about the closure of our school, i would not like to travel to a new school and have to make new friends again. I am at a crucial stage in my education and any desturbence of my delcate education my future will be ruined. Why does this have to happen to our school in such short notice? Even though there are falling numbers in the pupils a lot more schools in the boruogh have the same problem, but less pupils means more 1 to 1 learning for Sneyd’s pupils. These decissions are mind blowing to make our school close……… Have Serco even thought about the pupil’s education?????
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I am a pupil of sneyd and i have the rights to keep our school open and we have a good eductaion and we have the best staff and i will keep sneyd open what ever i takes to keep the school open
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what about the childs education do you wan to ruin our coursework ryan white year 10.
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With all respect to BRUCE PRESCOTT. What the hell do you now. You stated that you worked at Sneyd a DECADE ago! A lot changes in that time. So please dont insult a school which you currently know nothing about! Oh and by the way, letters at the end of your name does not make you anymore important than anyone else.
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As a member of the Upper Sixth at Sneyd, I feel I should have a say, considering I’ve been there since year 7.
Firstly, our school is also a community centre and hundreds of people use the facilities every week. We have a large swimming pool, astro turf, gym and various other sporting ammenities, numerous up to date ICT suites, brand new cooking rooms, well equipped workshops and a drama and dance studio – amongst other things. We are one of the newest council run schools in the area and have some of the best facilities on offer.
Secondly, our Sixth Form is second to none, due to the fact we have a partnership with Pool Hayes. It means that our A Level students get the best quality of teaching possible, as teachers at both schools specialise in different areas of our courses. We have a chance to meet new friends and have a very broad choice of courses. You won’t meet a smarter and more hard working group of teenagers!
Also, what about our Lower School pupils who will have their educations tarnished by closure? Undoubtably, by moving to another school environment at such a crucial stage (as they will be at GCSE age, by the time the proposed closure will happen) will have a profound effect on their performance in their exams. Having to gel with new people who already are in friendship groups and adapting to a new school will put them under even more pressure than they already will be under.
As for falling numbers, this is a BOROUGH WIDE PROBLEM! not just one at Sneyd. The reason the decline in numbers was more marked at Sneyd is due to the bad press we had during our time in “Special Measures”. People had reservations about sending their children to the school at that time, but now we’re well out of that and a better school for it. Surely, by having smaller classes at Sneyd, the quality of teaching will be even better than it is already, as students will get more attention.
We’re the most improved school in the whole of Walsall. Other schools have much worse results than we have acheived this year and don’t have anywhere near the sense of pride Sneyd children have, the community spirit, the ammenities our school has or the suppourt network that our staff and peer mentors offer. No other school in Walsall certainly, can say they have a WORLD CLASS CHOIR who have competed in Austria at this years Choir Games.
Every term we have award assemblies. Good students are rewarded, struggling ones are supported and ecouraged. Sneyd is truely an education establishment that just doesn’t teach – it nurtures.
Additionally, there aren’t enough places for all of our children to be educated in the borough. How do the cabinet plan to accomodate these fledging young academics? Hold lessons in corridors and store cupboards?
I think the Cabinet need to go and do THEIR homework!
As for Mr Bruce Prescott… A Bsc is only ONE degree. PGCE just means you are a qualified teacher, as are all the staff at our excellent school. Come back when you have a PhD. You taught there last century so I suggest you come and have a look around NOW and see what a great place it is.
Laura Kibble… “PREFECT”
(see, we can all put letters at the end of our names!)
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SERCO need to get there priorities right. Sneyd is a fantastic school and provides many students with a brilliant education. I personally achieved high grades there and know of many fellow pupils who also achieved extremely high grades. I am furthering my education in their joint sixth form, which is the most improved in the borough and am proud to be a member of this establishment.
The reason given for the proposed closure is pathetic; it is not the only school to suffer dropping pupil levels, it is a borough wide problem. The school currently has around 900 students, although it can hold 1,400 it was originally built for only 1,000 pupils. That is only 100 children.
Sneyd has some of the best facilities in the borough it has a million pound Astroturf, a swimming pool, a lake, newly furnished dining areas, a huge sports hall, a lift, new facilities in the cooking rooms and many more. It has some of the best teachers in the area such as Mr Bleach, Mr Welsh, Mrs Lewis, Mr Shackleton, Mr Mahoney, and many many more. It is not only a school but a community, it nurtures and cares for the children in it, it provides them with a safe place to be, it provides them with an education, and provides them with their own family-like network while they are there.
Not only does it provide a lot for the pupils it provides a lot for the surrounding community, it hosts many activities such as kayaking in the lake, the tennis courts are rented out along with the squash courts and sports hall, the swimming pool is host to lessons and lifeguard qualifications, the Astroturf is used every single night of the week, and the school also hosts Play scheme in the school holidays. The pupils are forever arranging charity days to raise money for charities and helping in the surrounding community.
Although people complain and say the area it is in is not nice as it is surrounded by Mossley and Dudley fields, personally I do not see this as a problem. Willenhall is surrounded by Bentley where people run about with guns; Alumwell is not in the best of areas and St. Thomas Moore in Darlaston, which does not have a particularly good reputation. It is down to the individuals within the school. Not all of Mossley children go to Sneyd; there are children from Coppice, Sneyd Park, and Essington, all of which are respectable areas.
SERCO are trying to make their intentions seem valid, however it is the opinion of many they just want to make money, they do not care about us as pupils, and our future. The ‘leak’ of this information was not accidental at all, they believe by leaking the information people will move their children, and then they will have no choice but to shut it down. Well we’re going to fight every step of the way. Every child has the right to an education, if Sneyd is closed where are the children meant to go, there is not enough space in schools in the borough to cater for all of them.
As for Bruce Prescott, letters do not make you important. You taught there a DECADE ago, I am sure if you ask the teachers who have been there from the beginning such as Mr Bleach and Mr Clewes, neither will feel the same. You time away from the school is pretty obvious, we made it out of special measures within 2 years, a huge achievement, and have made vast improvements since, I have been to other schools and none of them have an atmosphere quite like that of Sneyd. Just because you have a degree does not mean you know what is best for near enough a thousand pupils, and it is pretty obvious from the feedback the parents and pupils of Sneyd have given, that they know what it is, and that is to keep their education thriving in an established and well rounded school.
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shuttin down the school will also shut down a community,we need to fight all the way
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i am a pupil of sneyd i have the rights to keep our school open and i would just like to say that sneyd is one of the bestiest schools i have been to and i would like to say that there are some good teachers who have teached me for the last couple of weeks. and ive made lots of freinds at that school and i dont want lose them at all SO PLEASE SAVE OUR SCHOOL
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We are 2 year 12 students at sneyd school, we have been at this school for 5 years and had a really good education as we have acheived really good exam results.
For most students this is their nearest school and their parents will not want them to travel far to a school when they have a perfectly good one on their doorstep.
This is not fair as the younger years who have just settled in and happen to like the school will have to be moved because of your stupid decision.
Sneyd isn’t just used as a school, we have excellent facilities such as a astro turf and swimming pool. Also we have a play scheme which is run after school.
In my opinion sneyd is one of the best schools in the borough. We have achieved excellent exam results and have a wide range of opportunities for many people. If you decide to close the school you are runing the opportunities of these young people.
So we ask you why close a perfectly good school just because of lack of pupils.!!!!!!!!
You need 2 grow up and do you research on the school before you make any decisions because i can asure you that you would change your mind in an instant as the school is quite simply excellent.!
Sally Kimberley and Zoey Jeremiah
Year 12 of Sneyd School.!
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i think that it is a shame it is closing as school isnt just learning but its about friends and some people see sneyd as a family as well and if we get split up who will we have?????
save the sneyd school !!!!!!
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What annoys the most is the fact the council only care about stats and figures. They don’t quite get what a brilliant school it really is. For THREE years in a row the P.E department has taken 40 children to the south of France for a week of what was brilliant week of fun sun and a week on holiday in the school timetable. Also just the other week the as a rewards trip for a having 100% attendance for just the first half term they took us to see England under 21’s play at Villa park which was the best night I have had in a long time as well as being the best football match I have ever been to. SoS
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I think that the proposals to close the school are absolutely mind-blowing. Have SERCO even thought about our education and our future. I am currently in Year 10 but even though I will be left by the time of closure, I will still support our local school because I think it is unfair on current Year 9’s and below. Pupils would not like to travel miles to get to school, and have SERCO thought about the cost of travel and new school uniforms, without thinking about their education and friendships. SERCO say that we could get a better education somewhere else, NO we couldn’t if we thought that we could get a better education somewhere else then we would of left the school a long time ago, and probably not even put Sneyd down as an option. Pupils have started a good education at our school and wish to end it with our school, and with their friends. SERCO must be insane to think our school is bad, just because of falling pupil numbers it is a problem across the borough. Have SERCO even realised that we are improving, don’t look at the past look what is going on now and in the future. Since I have been at Sneyd I have had no experience of a bad education, SERCO have had no experience of being a pupil of Sneyd, if they had they would be fighting right now against closure. We need to keep our school open and fight for what is right, because at the moment SERCO are making a bad decision to close the school. SERCO SERCO SERCO that’s who its about not the pupils. Less pupils means more 1-1 learning for us. SERCO you best be ready because we are determined to keep open our school, WE WILL FIGHT BACK!!!!!!
Joshua Morton
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we are 2 year 8 pupils at sneyd, we have been at sneyd nw for a year and half. we have settled down really well and achived good marks in our subjects. we think that this isnt fair that people are talking about closing sneyd school just because there isnt the right number of pupils in the school.
we think that the less pupils in the school the better because other pupils can get the right eucation they need.
There are other schools in the borough that have less pupils in the school than sneyd do and there for if this is all about how many people should be in the schools then check out other schools and close them down!!!
save sneyd school !!!
Chelsea Heele and Paige Griffin
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Blimey, are Mr. Bleach and Mr. Clewes STILL there?! Fantastic…almost thirty years of service to one school by two of the finest teachers of their generation, in my view. I say this as someone who was taught, at different stages of my Sneyd ‘career’ in the early eighties by both of these incredibly gifted and talented teachers. Mr Bleach, in particular made a huge impact on me, his unique way of imparting knowledge on his specialist subject, History, was unforgettable.
Sneyd may have had a period of instability through the late nineties/early ‘noughties’, but from what I have read it is so much better again, now. So give the guys a chance, Walsall MBC.
A modern school with modern values deserves better…and in my view, a school with smaller pupil numbers is BETTER for each individual child. I thought this Govt. was in FAVOUR of low teacher to pupil ratios?
Ha! Seems that message hasn’t filtered through to Walsall town centre.
Mark C. Edwards,
proud and grateful former ‘Sneyd-ite.’
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We are 2 Y11 Students that are sitting our GCSE’s this year and we don’t need this stress at the moment about our school ‘closing’. Students in our year are struggling to find 6th form at other schools near by. So you are ruining our education. Instead of picking on sneyd all the time, maybe you should look at some of the other local schools and see if they have nay problems??
You are making the years below worry about making new friends and moving schools.
well we are going to fight you all the way to keep OUR school open!!!!
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i dont care what the council say at the end of the day they give perfect education a my opinion is to keep it open another point i must make is that they had me when no other school would. and now i will receive a good education here and acheive my grades and live a good life
SAVE OUR SCHOOL!!!!!!!
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