Lincolnshire County Council's executive has agreed to publish a statutory notice of closure of the school due to falling pupil numbers.

There will be a further six-week consultation period before a final decision is made in July.

Officers argued the school was no longer financially viable and would be unable to offer a suitable or sufficiently broad curriculum for the future.

They predicted that declining numbers would continue at the school and said the annual intake could easily drop below 20 - only 19 have put the school as their first choice for September 2008.

The plan would be for a phased closure by July 2010, with pupils moving to schools in Tattershall, Ruskington and Branston.

The county council received letters and a petition of 249 signatures in support of the campaign to save Lafford High School.

Chairman of governors Derek Daniels said: “I trust that Peter Duxberry, the head of children’s services, will fully consider the additional idea that we have put forward of the site being used as a resource centre and Special Educational Needs site. Currently 48.2 per cent of our 250 children have a special educational need and we certainly trust all that is going to be taken into account. We have a fantastic site with fantastic teachers.”

The governors have since met to consider their next step and Mr Daniels added: “We will not use the children as political pawns. We just need answers to what we feel are very simple questions.”



l Vice-chairman of governors at Lafford High School, Tena Wells, said she was devastated with the decision of the county council to close the school

She said: “We were hopeful they might wait to see what happens after the change of headship and give us five years to get back on track. We have proved by changing our option package that we can keep our students.

“We have done a lot of research into all the available data. From 2002-2007 our pupil numbers were up 43 and a half per cent as we recruit from the armed forces and migrant worker population.”

She said the Lafford has pupils referred when they cannot cope with larger schools and parents are concerned they may get lost in the system.

Mrs Wells added: “Where is that parental choice?

“They are going to have to put portable classrooms on site at the other schools to cope with the pupil numbers”

She said closure would have an impact on Billinghay Primary School too as Lafford shares the school fields and provides hot meals and space for school buses.

Pupils at Lafford have made a DVD, copies of which have been given to the council, explaining why they should keep the school site open.



l What do you think about the council’s decision to close Lafford High School? Email your views to john.lavery@jpress.co.uk, or by text to 81800, starting your message with SLEANEWS (full terms and conditions are on page 2)