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We must keep up the fight to save Pimlico
• THE “consultation” on the closure of Pimlico School by Westminster Council is proceeding in the same shambolic way as the last one.
The leaflet has not been posted to parents and is mainly a distortion of the results of the previous consultation, instead of a clear setting- out of the issues. The council is once again going through the motions refusing to engage with the Parents Association and only speaking to those it has pre-selected.
Of course this is all of a piece with the reality that the decision to close Pimlico and replace it with John Nash’s Future organisation, advised by Alpha Plus, was taken long ago. In fact, before any consultation about the future of the school, Council Leader Sir Simon Milton announced last March that he wanted Pimlico to become an academy.
Taking no account of the excellent results (which give the lie to the idea that Pimlico was failing) nor the views of those who responded to the previous consultation and who, by a huge majority, voted that the school should not become an academy, Westminster pressed ahead with its plan.
No notes were apparently kept of the meetings with potential sponsors and the decision was taken on the basis of a document, hurriedly prepared from memory by the Director for Schools, who is also the chair of the Interim Executive Board – dubbed the “Junta” by Pimlico staff – which runs the school.
The final decision on whether to close Pimlico School – one of the two remaining state comprehensives in Westminster – rests with Minister Ed Balls.
On Saturday, November 10 we are holding a Committee of Enquiry into the future of the school, chaired by Professor Stephen Ball of the Institute of Education, with Professor Gus John, Professor Sally Tomlinson and Murad Qureshi, Member of the London Assembly.
Starting at 11am, the Committee will take the views of anyone with an interest in the future of the school. The venue is Central Hall Westminster.
Padraic Finn
Secretary, Westminster NUT
• IT is with great concern that I am following the situation with Pimlico School.
Pimlico School is one of a handful of London schools renowned for their ethos – the reason they enjoy such a reputation is precisely because they are comprehensive – and, whatever your political slant, it is impossible to ignore the fact that some comprehensives have been hugely successful, and have offered wonderful opportunities to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
As a Westminster resident, and a regular visitor to Westminster all my life, I am pleasantly surprised at the good behaviour of all its secondary-age pupils.
I urge the pupils, parents and staff of Pimlico to keep up the fight: it is determination and stamina that wins battles, and I for one am right behind them.
Tom Prunty
Address supplied
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