Alice Ingham RC School saved!

1.06.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 7th Aug 2006

Councillor Christine Akram - pictured with Council Leader Alan Taylor has campaigned hard for the school to remain open!

The future of Alice Ingham RC School has been assured after the Council decided to keep the school open. Children, parents, governors, staff and residents will be delighted when they receive the news that they have been hoping for. The school was threatened with closure in September 2008 following a review of surplus places in the Borough. The decision to keep the school open will be ratified at the next meeting of Rochdale's Cabinet. This is a complete turnaround, the U-turn which has delighted residents came after the new Lib Dem Administration refused to back Labour and Conservative plans to close the school.

The proposal to close the school was controversial, when the announcement was made that the Council was planning to close the school - Councillor Colin Lambert was forced to apologise after misleading people, claiming that the decision to close the school was the Salford Dioceses.

The threat of closure has now been removed after MP - Paul Rowen stepped in and brokered a meeting between the Salford RC Diocese, Staff and Governors including the school's Chair of Governors - Father Joe Sweeney. Paul Rowen MP said, "I am delighted that Alice Ingham School will continue to play such a valuable role in the Smallbridge Community. The school put up such a valiant effort in the face of closure and I now look forward to it flourishing. I have been in regular contact with those affected by this decision and I know that will be overjoyed at this decision."

Lead Member for Children, School and Families - Councillor David Clayton said, "Any mention of school closures is always an emotional one and this certainly galvanised support for the school. The facts are that with the Diocese uniting behind the school their future the Council is happy to support them and guaranteed their future and I know that the school will continue to provide an excellent education for the youngsters in this Borough.

School Governor and Local Councillor Jean Ashworth said, "We fought as a community to save this school and it just goes to show that by uniting together we can make a difference. This is a victory for common sense and I would like thank Paul Rowen MP for playing a key part in the campaign. If this school closed, it would effectively have ended choice in the Smallbridge area for Catholic Schoolchildren with similar, local schools full."