Letter from Ivan Lewis MP regarding the Radcliffe Riverside School:
The proposed last minute changes to downgrade the new Secondary School in Radcliffe are nothing short of a disgrace. I led the original delegation several
years ago which secured major Government investment in our vision for a State of the Art School. For me a new school has always been at the heart of our vision for a regenerated
Radcliffe and the most powerful symbol of a community with a bright future. This bizarre attempt to dilute and undermine the planned school must be resisted by people who want
the best for Radcliffe irrespective of political affiliations.
These changes have been drawn up in secret without any consultation with the effected schools or people of Radcliffe. The new Tory Council revealed their
intentions in the final week of the summer term, a cynical and ill-advised attempt to prevent any debate and limit a public outcry. No mention was made of these plans
in the Conservative Local Election campaign.
They claim their proposals are designed to deal with the very real problem of surplus Secondary School places across Bury. Their deceit is that
Radcliffe has already made the largest contribution in Borough and reduced numbers by 500 places through the consolidation of Radcliffe High and Coney Green. A further reduction
in the number of places by a third from 900 to 600 will mean hundreds of Radcliffe families being denied in the future the choice to send their children to a new, improving and local State of the
Art school which surely must be developed on the basis that its success and facilities will attract an increasing number of pupils year on year.
In addition to reducing places the council are planning to “shoehorn” a Primary School into a wing of the new building. The school concerned has never
been consulted on this or the fact they are also to have their numbers reduced. This wing is an integral element of the new school and its loss would represent a serious erosion
of required space and facilities. Proposals that five and six year olds should share canteen facilities with teenagers are as barmy as they are irresponsible. The council’s claim
that they are building a new Primary school is nothing but a cruel deception.
My Conservative opponent Cllr Michelle Wiseman, a senior member of the group which has made this decision, asked, what is all the fuss about? My answer is
simple.
Denying hundreds of Radcliffe children the excellent education you demand for your own children is either motivated by snobbery or ignorance. Radcliffe
families deserve the best because they have the same aspirations and dreams for their children and grandchildren as my constituents living in Prestwich, Whitefield and Unsworth.
The Council should withdraw these proposals and get on with the job of building a State of the Art secondary school for Radcliffe as originally planned without any further
delay.
Ivan Lewis MP
Bury South
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