Save Sulivan Campaigners Call for Support at Council Cabinet Meeting
Where they plan to ask for consultation on school closure to be extended
Parents fighting to save Sulivan Primary School in Fulham's Peterborough Road are asking supporters to join them in attending Hammersmith and Fulham Council's Cabinet meeting on Monday September 2.
The campaigners, who call themselves #teamsulivan on Twitter, plan to pose the following deputation question to the Cabinet.
“We ask the Cabinet to arrange for extra time to be given for the consultation on the closure of Sulivan School. We are concerned that staff and parents will not be able to properly take part in a full and detailed consultation on such an important issue at the start of the academic year when children are being settled into their new school and their new classes.
" We also wish to point out that the extra time is urgently needed so that more attention can be paid to the potential damaging impact on our children’s well being and education.
" Finally, we also need further time to ensure the consultation has the full facts about the growing population in Fulham and the future demand for primary school places."
The campaigners are asking supporters to meet at Hammersmith Town Hall by 5.45pm on Monday before the meeting begins at 6pm.
The campaign to save the Fulham school began after Hammersmith and Fulham Council asked people for their views on a proposal to amalgamate two small primary schools in Fulham - Sulivan and New King's - which the council says would "create a combined school with better facilities, offering a richer educational experience".
The council's announcement made it clear the proposal would mean using the New King's site on New King's Road, saying it would provide up to £2 million to redesign and re-equip it with the latest teaching facilities.
This, says the council would have the "added benefit" of releasing the Sulivan school site to be used by Fulham Boys Free School. This school has been given the go ahead by the Government to offer 120 secondary places per year, but has been forced to postpone its proposed opening this September because it has not found a suitable site.
The council claims that both New King’s and Sulivan in Peterborough Road struggle with small pupil numbers, taking only 75 pupils per year between them, but the campaigners accuse it of using old figures and say that both nursery and reception classes are full.
They also point that Sulivan has lovely grounds including large play areas and an outdoor science laboratory, while New King's has only a small tarmac playground on New King's Road.
And they say on the Save Sulivan School Facebook page saying: " Sulivan is a community school that students past and present love and are proud of. Please join us in trying to save it."
The campaigners are also asking local people to make their voices heard by completing the online questionnaire and attending public meetings being held at New King's School on Thursday September 5 at 6.30pm and Sulivan School on Tuesday September 10 at 6pm.
The detailed consultation document and the online response form is here on the council website: www.lbhf.gov.uk/fulhamschools.
August 30, 2013
