York school set to close (From York Press)
Get in touch: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting YORK to 80360 or send an email»
Derwent School set to close
9:50am Thursday 25th October 2012 in News
By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter
With their children at Derwent School, which could merge with nearby Osbaldwick School, are, from the left, Tanya Turpin, Amanda Willis, Louise Quinn and Charlotte Cowling
PLANS have been unveiled to formally close a York primary school and merge it with another school nearby.
City of York Council is to consult on proposals to bring Osbaldwick and Derwent Schools together as one, but continuing to operate on both sites.
“Such an arrangement would require the formal closure of Derwent School as a separately registered school,” said a spokeswoman.
“The decision to move to consultation is in keeping with local parental demand for places and has been made with the needs of children and the local community as the key driver.”
Osbaldwick councillor Mark Warters said the closure was another predictable consequence of the “studentification” of Tang Hall, which had seen traditional family homes turned into student lets, reducing the potential number of pupils at local schools, and had already helped lead to the closure of Burnholme School.
The spokeswoman said Carole Torode, the head teacher at Derwent School, was taking planned retirement at the end of this term after making an excellent contribution to the school and, as an interim measure, it had been agreed by the governing bodies that Osbaldwick’s current head, Lesley Barringer, would become the executive head for both schools until next September.
The consultation is expected to start before the end of the calendar year. Decisions will be taken next spring in time for changes to be in place by next September.
One parent with children at Osbaldwick expressed concern at the merger, telling The Press he did not welcome the idea of pupils from Derwent mixing with his children.
Parents of children at Derwent School desribed it as “brilliant.”
They said they would oppose the full closure of the school, but would accept its formal closure as part of a merger scheme.
“It’s more secure than Osbaldwick and has new equipment in the playground, and there’s a family centre,” said Charlotte Cowling, whose children Hollie, six, and Callum, three, attend Derwent.
Comments(20)
YorkBorn&Bred
says...
11:29am Thu 25 Oct 12
YorkBorn&Bred
says...
11:30am Thu 25 Oct 12
R'Marcus
says...
11:34am Thu 25 Oct 12
yorkie0802
says...
11:55am Thu 25 Oct 12
YorkPatrol
says...
1:37pm Thu 25 Oct 12
yorkie0802 wrote:Not for much longer
Derwent is a happy school - I worked there for many years!!
Sawday2
says...
3:37pm Thu 25 Oct 12
I'd like to bet that there are hundreds of readers here who do not welcome the idea of mixing with this parent. What a prat.
straylandsbloke
says...
4:05pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Mums the word222
says...
4:50pm Thu 25 Oct 12
yorkmummyto2
says...
5:18pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Yorkie-Clifton
says...
5:47pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Grey Lady
says...
5:48pm Thu 25 Oct 12
straylandsbloke wrote:Before Osbaldwick was officially part of York, the primary school came under the East Riding Authority. I lived in Osbaldwick but attended Derwent (along with about 7 others of my age group) this was because Osbaldwick school was full, we had to go somewhere, and Derwent was the nearest.
Can't believe it's taken this long,I never understood why there was 2 primary schools a stones throw apart
Yorkie-Clifton
says...
5:56pm Thu 25 Oct 12
straylandsbloke wrote:Osbaldwick School was a very small village school with 2 classrooms . I think it was a Church School . Derwent was much larger and catered for the Tang Hall and Hull Road areas . Derwent used to loan Osbaldwick School equipment etc . Osbaldwick has since increased in size . That is the reason straylandsbloke
Can't believe it's taken this long,I never understood why there was 2 primary schools a stones throw apart
Izzy101
says...
6:29pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Even AndyD
says...
8:32pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Stevie D
says...
10:53pm Thu 25 Oct 12
Izzy101 wrote:The plan is that both school sites will remain open and in use – although Derwent has a lot of spare space, Osbaldwick is overflowing, so there will probably be some kind of reorganisation to balance numbers across the two sites (maybe infants on one and juniors on the other?) – but effectively to merge the two schools.
someone i know goes here! plz dont shut it! personally. I love the school badge :D
There are lots of stories in the national press about how difficult it is to recruit headteachers, and that's particularly true when you've got a small school and a struggling school, so Derwent's chances of getting a new head of the calibre needed to improve the school and build its numbers up would be slim. It seems like merging with Osbaldwick and getting an experienced and highly rated headteacher (despite what yorkshire quest says) would be a good move for the school, and might put to bed the bad reputation that it has had from being at the wrong end of Osbaldwick Lane.
Yorkie-Clifton
says...
11:58pm Thu 25 Oct 12
yorkie0802
says...
10:40am Fri 26 Oct 12
YSTClinguist
says...
12:41pm Fri 26 Oct 12
The adopting of one 'brand' is a sticky point that could foster anger admittedly. Maybe it would be better if both schools were dissolved and a new brand created to level things, (although then all parents would see new school uniform expenditure, and the bureaucracy costs for rebranding would be prohibitive.)
I am surprised that no one has yet to comment on the HE student accommodation growing changes that have led to this situation. Residents might very well argue that this is their home, their childrens schools, and that the students coming in from outside for a year or three have disturbed our way of life. Is this a sign of things to come? How is our society 'compensated' for these effects on our lives.
Binky7
says...
2:28pm Fri 26 Oct 12
sheps lad says...
11:27am Thu 25 Oct 12