United in demand for Grove rebuild
Parents, pupils, teachers and governors have united to demand a new building for The Grove School, Balderton, that was first promised four years ago.
Their plea comes just days ahead of a planned meeting in Westminster on Tuesday between schools minister Mr Michael Gove and the MP for Newark, Mr Patrick Mercer.
Mr Mercer says he is determined to get answers about when a new school will be built.
Work was due to start in January 2011 paid for by the former Government’s Building Schools For The Future programme.
That scheme was scrapped by the Coalition Government in July 2010 and since then parents have been campaigning for the money to be found to get a new Grove building.
The head, Mrs Liz Hart, said she believed all the children of Newark and Balderton had a right to be taught in a safe, comfortable and inspiring environment, and hoped the investment needed to provide that would be made available as a matter or urgency.
“The heart of The Grove School is not the building but the children in it and they truly deserve investment in their future,” she said.
“While buildings alone do not transform learning, the impact of the learning environment cannot be under-estimated.
“We shall continue to work hard to improve what happens within the buildings to ensure our students can fulfil their potential and aspirations.
“To have a learning environment that truly supports this is, as had been planned under BSF, the ideal.”
The chairman of governors, Mr Dave Baliol-Key, said staff and pupils had done a great deal of background development work on how their new school would be an inclusive part of the community and for it to be cancelled at such a late stage was not always easy to cope with.
He said: “It says a great deal for the Grove students, staff, parents and its community that within the time schedule by Ofsted to come out of notice to improve, it did so and in buildings that we now know are recognised as some of the worst secondary school buildings in Nottinghamshire.
“Just imagine what they will achieve when they get the school that they deserve.”
For more coverage on the campaign for a Grove School rebuild, see today's Advertiser.
