COALITION OF PARENTS TO FIGHT OFF CLOSURE

9 November 2005

Parents from Bishop Gore school have joined forces with their Dylan Thomas counterparts in a bid to save the threatened school.

Swansea Council leaders want to close Dylan Thomas Community School in Cockett and eventually transfer pupils to Bishop Gore. However, the closure and plan to create a £20 million super-school have been opposed by parents from both schools.

They have now decided to pool their resources and fight Swansea Council together.

Amanda Edwards, who has two children at Bishop Gore and three primary aged children, said: "We think it is probably the first time that parents and governors from two different schools have fought to save one that is threatened with closure.

"Obviously we are coming at it from different perspectives, but we still support them fully and they oppose the same things we are against.

"For parents at Bishop Gore it has been a very disruptive year. We started it with strong rumours that we were going to close. The council then had a complete turnaround and said that Dylan Thomas was to close.

"To be honest we met that news with relief."

However, now the dust has settled on the proposals, parents from Bishop Gore feel they should stand side-by-side with those from Dylan Thomas.

Parents from both schools will hand in objections to the council together on Monday.

Mrs Edwards said: "Our objectives are the same. We do not want to see the growth of Bishop Gore. We think it will be far too big with 2,000 pupils.

"To close Dylan Thomas school would be a flagrant waste of money after spending £12 million on it four years ago.

"The Bishop Gore site will never be as accessible to children with disabilities as Dylan Thomas is.

"Mrs Edwards said that the opposition to the proposals, which include a transitional period when both sites will be open, was an issue for the whole community not just parents.

"I have two children at Bishop Gore, a third will go there and then I will have one at the Dylan Thomas site and one at primary school.

"I won't be the only parent with children at different sites and it's going to cause more traffic for residents.

"A lot of people living in Sketty will see the roads get worse and some are already supporting us.

"We also want to attract parents of younger children who we think will be affected by the two-site proposal. The council is saying it will be finished in a couple of years but it could stretch on much longer.

"Sheila Thomas, of the Dylan Thomas parents group, said they welcomed the support.

She said: "Our groups will send objections direct to the Assembly."