Disappearing schools

It emerged earlier (Telegraph 15th April) that primary schools in England are being sold in hundreds and many more are lined up for sale. No fewer than 298 schools have been sold since 1997, for £236 million, and a further 188 at least are in the pipeline.

Under pressure from central government, it is feared that almost 2,500 out of 17,361 are at risk. The regulations involve the number of empty desks.

The Government position is that any profits must be ploughed back into education. So, Oxfordshire raised almost £40 million from sales, Hertfordshire nearly £26 million, Cambridgeshire £20 million and West Sussex £16 million.

These are mostly rural areas, which have come out badly in Government grants, so the money is welcome, but they are areas which tend also to have lost their post offices, shops and surgeries, and frequently local hospitals. Residents of all ages now have to travel further, and at a time of rising fuel costs and car taxes. Little wonder that many villagers are wondering if NuLabour can even see beyond the town and city boundaries. What is happening to carbon footprints can only be imagined.

The changes are largely irreversible as well. Once the buildings and land have been devoted to other purposes, - sheltered housing, light industry etc, it will be impossible to reverse things at reas9nable cost. Insofar as they are used for private housing, there is the irony that population in a village may rise, including school age children, but they will have to travel to other towns and villages because the school has gone!

At a time when there is a shortage of school accommodation in some areas, and large class sizes, it seems a very strange stewardship which destroys many schools with perfectly adequate school buildings. It seems a very short-sighted view of things.