Why shut such an excellent centre of learning?

I write with regard to the proposed closure of Broadlands School, as part of the B&NES Council plans to have just one school in Keynsham.

I believe the council is making a big mistake and should be proud that parents from neighbouring areas prefer to send their children to Keynsham for their education.

Keynsham residents do not subsidise the education of the non-Keynsham students, whose parents pay significant travel costs for their children to attend Broadlands.

Brislington Enterprise College may have new buildings, but I understand its results are still significantly inferior to Broadlands.

It seems madness to close a school which, prior to B&NES's closure plans announcement several years ago, was performing very well, and has recovered its position.

I wonder if parents with children at Wellsway School want the class sizes to swell to accommodate pupil numbers in the region of 2,000!

Also, in the council's desperate attempt to achieve its aim, Wellsway is likely only to be enhanced, rather than rebuilt. This is because it is unlikely the BSF funding will be forthcoming, so the council will need to fund the enhancement out of the sale of Broadlands' land.

The transition from two schools to one will be dependent on co-operation between the two schools.

However, even if there is co-operation, there may still be a significant risk that many pupils at both schools may have their education blighted, as teachers' morale plunges due to the threat of redundancy, and results consequently suffer once again. Larger class sizes might also lead to this outcome.

With this in mind I wonder if there is the potential for any legal recourse for parents, against the council should this prove to be the case. After all, children only get this one chance at their education.

In my opinion, as a parent of two children at Broadlands, this plan is a devastating one and should be reversed.

I wonder if during the consultation period, there is an overwhelming desire to retain both schools, expressed from parents and teachers of both Broadlands and Wellsway, the council will reverse the decision.

Anybody who feels as strongly as I do, then it is essential they express their views very strongly during the consultation period and particularly at any associated public meetings.

A Delves,

Broadlands parent.

BROADLANDS has been the school of choice for many in this part of Bristol and it's not hard to see why.

GCSE results for 2009 show that Broadlands is significantly better than its counterpart over the border.

These two schools are similar and optimum in size and intake but in just about every other measure, Broadlands is superior.

The Government talks of choice, the Tories talk of smaller schools

So, against this background, why is B&NES hell-bent on holding a consultation this spring on the proposed closure of Broadlands, a school having achieved its best results ever.

Broadlands is a science and engineering school that achieves national awards for its work, with close connections to local industry and is known for its strong pastoral care of our children.

These proposals are not ideal for Wellsway either. We are not talking of a new purpose-built school fit for a town as prestigious, but rather a cobbled together larger school with new buildings added to an existing congested site that will now total 1,600 or so students in a residential area. If we let this 'on the cheap proposal' go forward, Keynsham can forget having a new school that all could be proud of.

Is this what the people of Keynsham want? Is this what the parents and students of either school want? Is this the size of school that best serves the educational purpose? The political parties do not think so.

I urge the people of Keynsham and south-east Bristol to think hard about this ill thought out proposal and keep a successful thriving school open for the benefit of all.

Les Cumner,

By email.