Campaigners launch legal action against school closures

Members of the Save the North Craven three-tier system of education have filed for a Judicial Review at Leeds County Court against the way in which North Yorkshire County Council decided to close Ingleton and Settle Middle Schools earlier this year. Public meetings have been arranged for people to attend in Ingleton, Bentham and Settle next week to discuss the issue.

North Yorkshire County Council has, however, said it plans to object to the call for a review.

A spokeswoman said: “We have been served with papers seeking judicial review. We have lodged our response with the court which contests the claim in its entirety. It is now for the court to make a decision which we expect within the coming weeks.

“In making its decision to close Ingleton and Settle middle schools, the county council understood clearly that some people locally were very loyal to the middle school system.

“At no time during the consultation and decision making process was any attempt made to underplay the nature of responses and people turned up in large numbers to public meetings and were given the opportunity to express their opinions fully.”

Education chiefs in North Yorkshire have given their backing for two secondary schools in Scarborough to merge.

Graham and Raincliffe schools in Scarborough are already federated with one governing body and now plan to unite. Parents of the two schools were said to be “overwhelmingly positive” about the proposal during a recent consultation.

Yesterday North Yorkshire County Council’s executive approved plans for statutory notices to be published to expand Graham School and “to cease to maintain Raincliffe”. A final decision will be taken by the executive in September for the schools to become a single enlarged Graham School in September 2012 following a 12-month transition period.