Two Good Schools for St Margarets

We are where we are.

The Council has managed to push through a two school solution to St Margarets' places squeeze without parents noticing. They say they will listen to alternatives but then reject them without discussion.

Yes, it may divide the community, but we need those extra school places, so let's be constructive about how we get them.

Orleans Infants may just have enough money to expand as it needs. It is a bright and attractive site, and expansion, while inconvenient, will create a modern school capable of meeting the needs of its target area.

St Stephen's is an urban school in a suburban location. It is cramped where it is, and adding two classrooms, especially with the need to create Reception spaces, is going to be challenging, not least because the fabric is already under strain, with evidence of damp around the school.

The education is great, but with a bright modern school on its doorstep, will it just become the poor second relation, the Cinderella school?

At present, the answer is yes. Because as a Church school, it cannot reclaim the VAT it pays, the already small 2 million pound budget shrinks, after consultant and architects fees, to 1.2 million pounds for the build. Independent local architects say the job cannot be done for that, and sources close to the project say that for the School to even start to come up to scratch, 1 million pounds needs to be found.

We want to get the Council to recalculate the budget, and fund accordingly. Cllr Eady says that the Council don't know everything. Our job is to show them how right we are.

A rough calculation shows that top-slicing 3-3.5% from the other school's budgets should cover the shortfall. That's a small fraction to make a large difference. Would a school being given 8 million have noticed only being offered 7.7 million? Probably not.

We will be keeping you up-to-date with progress, and publishing info as it comes in. We will also ask you to help us lobby the Council, elected and unelected, to help us help the school.

A million quid is too much to raise through cake sales...