FEARS OF CHAOS AT SCHOOL

Leon Watson - 4 July 2005

Swansea's Bishop Gore School could end up more busy than the Quadrant bus station if plans to give it 500 more pupils go ahead, it was claimed today. Governors fighting the closure of Dylan Thomas School fear that a massive increase in buses pulling up outside the Sketty school will put children at risk.

But Swansea Council has said buses will be catered for under planned changes at the Bishop Gore site.

If plans to close Dylan Thomas Community School go ahead in 2007, it will mean more than 570 children will be transferred to a revamped Bishop Gore.

The plans are part of the council's efforts to tackle falling school rolls - which mean there are too many places in Swansea for too few pupils.

The city comprehensive already has up to nine buses a day parking outside its gates in De-La-Beche Road during the busy school run.

But with the extra pupils being ferried in from Dylan Thomas's catchment area and up to nine buses already turning up every day, governors say this number will rocket.

"We think there will be at least 16 buses pulling up outside the school every day," said Dylan Thomas School parent governor Robin Lowe.

"And that is not including the minibuses that help disabled children or are used by social services.

"With all this extra traffic there will be chaos - it will be worse than the Quadrant bus station. And this will mean our children will be put at risk.

"It is already quite dangerous there during the school run."

At a consultation meeting held last week education bosses said they expected hundreds of pupils to cycle to school when the transfer is made.

But Mr Lowe said: "This will only make the situation worse. We are very concerned for the children's safety."

A spokesman from Swansea Council insisted that provision would be made to cope with the influx of buses when plans to pump £7 million into Bishop Gore were finalised.

He said: "As explained to parents at the public meeting, traffic issues will be dealt with when firm proposals for the enlarged Bishop Gore have been established.

"School buses will be accommodated as appropriate when all bus routes serving the enlarged school have been defined.

"The council is confident that by using appropriate techniques to encourage greater use of modes of travel other than the car, child safety will be preserved and an efficient means of getting children to and from school will be provided."