** Text Extracted from a Letter dated 8th May 1990 sent by the Church Lawford Parish Council addressed to the County Education Officer **
Dear Ms Maden
Proposed Closure of Church Lawford C of E First School
Church Lawford Parish Council wishes to make its views clear in opposing the proposed closure of the village school.
The school is the focal point of village life not just for the education of young children, but also for the Playgroup, the Parents and Toddlers Group, the Summer Playscheme, evening classes for adults, and also as a venue for the Village Church Fete, W.I. Group activities, Exhibitions and many fund raising activities and social occasions when villagers get together.
In addition, the local Senior Citizens would be sadly disappointed as they are always invited to the Christmas Concert, to the School Leaving Ceremony, and to Sports Day. The children also take the produce from the Harvest Festival and flowers on Mothers Day to the elderly within the village.
There is a very close link between the school and the village.
Although Long Lawford School is very good and physically there are enough places for the Church Lawford children, in many cases the class sizes will be very high as may be seem from the following table:-
FIRST SCHOOL
Reception 28
Year 1 29
Year 2 33
Year 3 28
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Year 4 34
Year 5 24
Year 6 30
Year 7 32
Already there are 31 names down to start in the reception class in September. Parents have chosen to send their children to Church Lawford School where class numbers are significantly lower than at Long Lawford School. Parents have also chosen to bring their pre-school children to Church Lawford Playgroup so that there is continuity for the children in being familiar with the school and the teachers when they start their formal education. At present and into the foreseeable future the Playgroup at Long Lawford is full, so this progression from playgroup to school will be denied to Church Lawford children.
There has not been enough research into housing developments at Long Lawford and at Church Lawford. With the prospect of another 400 houses, many of them ‘starter homes”, being built at Long Lawford, in addition to the redevelopment of the council houses, Long Lawford School will be hard pressed to cope with children from Long Lawford let alone swelling their numbers with children from Church Lawford.
According to the Warwickshire Structure Plan Church Lawford is allowed “in fill” development. The Parish Council has already received a number of planning applications for small groups of houses within the village and also from the surrounding area. Some are for completely new development and others for barn conversions. Rugby Borough Council has informed tenants in the Airey houses that these houses are to be demolished and the land redeveloped. Church Lawford Parish Council has proposed that housing for the elderly should be included in this redevelopment so that larger houses in the village would be freed for occupation by young families.
In recent years rural communities have been deprived of many of the amenities which make a village into a cohesive unit. As may be seen from the villages of Willoughby and Withybrook once the village school is closed the shop and post office close too. Even with the Community Charge there is still a Parish Rate. People living in rural areas can see that they are paying ever increasing sums of money for fewer amenities. By far the greatest percentage of the Community Charge is spent on education. The Government has consistently emphasised the importance of parental choice. Reducing the number of school is contradictory to this policy.
The Parish Council feel that to take away Church Lawford School would be turning the clock back 150 years: Rural schools are different to their urban counterparts but in no way are they inferior. The Parish Council strongly urge that further consideration be given to the recommended closure bearing in mind the long term future of the children in this small community rather than the small saving that would be achieved in the short term.
Yours sincerely,
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