Protest over Huyton school closure

Around 40 Merseyside pupils and parents recently descended on Knowsley Council offices to deliver a message to Knowsley Council: “Save Our School”.
The demonstration to protest about the council plans to close Christ the King Centre for Learning, in Huyton took place from Huyton Library to the council offices.
The £24m school which was only opened in 2009 and described as bringing “world class” education to Knowsley, has places for 900 pupils but is due to have only 381 pupils on its roll when the new term starts in September.
The joint Church of England/Catholic school was denied the opportunity to become a sponsored academy outside council control after the Department for Education said it had concerns over its viability.
This has since been refuted by a member of the parents committee, saying that there are viable opportunities for a number organisations to take over the running of the school but have not received any backing.
Although it has received critical inspection reports, Ofsted recently said that the school was ‘making reasonable progress’.
Recently Cllr Graham Wright, Knowsley’s cabinet member for children and family services, pledged to listen to the response of pupils and parents during what he called a “difficult time”.
Confirming the closure plan, a Knowsley Council spokesman said: “With no prospect of sponsorship, the council now has no alternative than to consider the possibility of closure.”
Cllr Graham Wright, said: “I realised “this will be a difficult time for everyone at Christ the King Centre for Learning” but pledged “we will be listening to their response to this proposal before making our final decision”.
He added: “There are some complex challenges at Christ the King, compounded by a large number of surplus places which mean the centre is running at a substantial loss. This inevitably affects the quality of the education which can be provided.
“The council, Archdiocese and the Diocese are all in agreement that we have a moral duty to carefully consider the best interests of those pupils currently studying at the centre.
“I would like to reassure parents and pupils that if the centre does close, we will do everything we can to make the transition as smooth as it can possibly be, and that parents will be kept informed at every stage in the process.”
Amid empty desks, the school had a deficit of more than £1.2m as of March 31 last year.
Parents have since called for the resignation of Cllr Wright and vowed to fight the closure of the school after forcing a U-turn when the council first mooted its axe in 2011.
Knowsley Council’s cabinet is due to make a decision on the possible closure of Christ the King Centre for Learning at their meeting on July 10, 2013.
More information about the proposed closure of Christ the King can be found at http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/your-council/consultation.aspx.