PUPILS' PROTEST GOES TO DOWNING STREET

7 June 2005

The Children's Commissioner for Wales is set to step into the row over plans to axe Swansea's under-threat Dylan Thomas School, it was revealed today. Peter Clarke has been contacted by pupils at the Cockett community school after they fired off a flood of letters telling councillors to stop bullying them.

Students from Dylan Thomas have already contacted the highest authorities in the land to try to save their school from the chop in 2007.

The pupils have appealed to the Prince of Wales, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain and Jane Davidson, Assembly Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning.

On Thursday, the school will hear its fate when the future of the school is decided at a cabinet meeting in County Hall.

Plans to close the school and move all its pupils to Bishop Gore Comprehensive School in Sketty are expected to be given the go-ahead.A spokeswoman for Mr Clarke, who looks after children's affairs in Wales, said he was "very concerned over their fears". He now plans to look further into them.

School Council member Jonathan Davies, aged 13, said: "Closing Dylan Thomas School is wrong. It is almost like they are picking on us."

Pupils have also ordered 600 protest wristbands to be handed out to parents and children as part of the campaign to keep the school open.

Dale Tracey, also from the school council, said: "Everyone here is against this. All the children and the pupils are united in fighting the plans.

"We are looking for as much help as we can from Peter Clarke and everyone else we have written to.

"We don't want to move because we are settled here so we will not let Swansea Council pick on the underdog."

The closure plan is part of a big shake-up being actively considered by Swansea Council to meet the problem of falling school rolls.

Dylan Thomas is the biggest casualty to date although schools in Swansea East and Swansea North have still to come under the microscope.

The council says it needs to act in the interests of children to ensure they get proper access to the best schooling possible.

However, parents at Dylan Thomas are angry at the proposal and say they will fight it.

Mum Andrea Thomas, of Townhill, whose 14-year-old son is a pupil at the school added yesterday: "If they thought we would be an easy touch, they have another think coming.”