Parents at remote Blisland School on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, have united to fight a decision by the county council to shut the school from next September, writes Michael Prestage.
Councillors decided by one vote that the eight-pupil primary school should close, despite claims by governors and parents that the roll will rise to 17 by next September.
Val Cox, chair of the education committee, said that the decision to close Blisland gave her “no pleasure”, but that it was being made on the grounds of educational standards, not in order to save money.
“It is expecting too much for a single acting headteacher to fulfil all the requirements of the national curriculum,” she said. However, her husband and fellow councillor Dr Peter Cox, a governor at the school, voted for its survival.
Parent-governor Tina Mellow believes the education authority has not taken into account a row between parents and a former head that saw pupil numbers plummet from more than 30 to single figures.
“We feel the council has been short-sighted,” she said. “Closing the school will be a tremendous blow to the village.”
