PARENTS HIT OUT AT SCHOOL REPORT

Ben Evans - 12 July 2005

Battling parents fighting to keep their children's school open have launched their own scathing attack on the proposals, claiming figures are flawed and fabricated. Members of Dylan Thomas's Parent Support Group yesterday handed over their objections to the plans, which could close the school, to senior education officers.

The campaigners, who joined forces to oppose the proposed axing of the comprehensive, claim the authority's report originally putting forward the proposals is distorted and inaccurate.

Their document was handed to education officer Kelly Small at County Hall yesterday.

It comes just a few days after governors presented their own formal statement of opposition to the council.

Pupils on the school council were also handing their own views on the scheme to the council today.

Parents say the number of children at the school is actually rising and are demanding to know where the council has got its information.

Many parents have also signed a series of letters saying they will not send their children to Bishop Gore - the school that the authority has earmarked to take the youngsters if Dylan Thomas shuts.

More than 200 were handed over by the support group, with hundreds more being sent in by individual parents.

The controversial plans to close Dylan Thomas form part of a city-wide shake-up of schools.

Under the proposals, the council wants to scrap the Cockett school and send its 500-plus pupils to Bishop Gore school in Sketty.

The council claims the scheme would tackle the problem of Swansea having too many school places for too few pupils.

Parent governor Rob Lowe, who is co-ordinating the campaign against the plans, said the protest was not about attacking other schools in the city.

He said: "There is nothing wrong with Bishop Gore - we are just not in the school closure business.

"The pupil numbers at Dylan Thomas have risen by seven per cent year on year.

"The largest fall in rolls is at the school that the council would like us to fill if ours closes."Olchfa applied to the Assembly for its numbers to be reduced from 2,000 to 1,800 as it could not cope with that many children.

"But if our children go to Bishop Gore then it will put the numbers there well in excess of 2,000."

Parent Sue Jones, of Townhill, said: "We are not going to give up."