Closing three schools - the Observer view
THE town was shocked on Monday when the county council announced it was closing three of our secondary schools and replacing them with academies.
The Grove, Hillcrest and Filsham Valley will all close in the next three years. In their place will be two brand new academies. And this is welcomed by the Observer.
The fact is that the children of this town deserve better than what is being provided at the moment.
Exam results have been poor at all the above three schools. And the time has come to say that isn't acceptable for Hastings.
East Sussex County Council has failed miserably in its efforts to raise educational standards in Hastings.
It admitted that when it said it could do no more and employed a private company to run the three schools.
That set-up, under Sir Dexter Hutt, has just started, and I am told behaviour has already improved.
Hastings MP Michael Foster assured me only today that Sir Dexter is already making an impact in all three schools.
Why has it taken so long for change, one must ask, if these schools have been failing for so long?
Still, that is where we are now, Sir Dexter will run these schools for the next three years.
Over that time I have no doubt exam results will improve.
So what happens after three years, parents and pupils will wonder? The risk was that Sir Dexter would disappear and the standards would slide again.
Now there is a clear plan - and one that we welcome. Academies, new buildings, and a continuation of the good work that Sir Dexter and his teams will have started.
Nothing is official, but my guess is that Hillcrest and the Grove will be demolished and land sold off.
I guess that Filsham Valley will remain - only the building - and there will be a brand new site in Ore.
This is real regeneration. It is also about giving pupils choice and a better quality of education.
Nobody should dispute that.
Staff are worried - and to a degree I can understand that. But only to a degree.
Good teachers will not only survive, they will flourish. Bad teachers - well they are probably in the wrong profession anyway.
At last we have a vision - a vision to improve education in Hastings.
Let's not moan. Let's welcome it. Put this together with a brand new college, and we have real hope for the future.
Peter Lindsey,
Group Editor
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Weather for Hastings
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
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