Council halts controversial Whitby school amalgamation decision because of Government academies drive

North Yorkshire County Council’s proposals, which would have seen Eskdale School and Caedmon College become one, has led to a major protest campaign.

A petition signed by more than 4,800 people calling for Eskdale School to be saved was handed over to the education authority two months ago and two heated public meetings have taken place in the town to discuss the plans. The consultation had closed and councillors on North Yorkshire’s Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee were set to debate the issue on Friday at Whitby Pavilion.

However North Yorkshire County Council has now announced that it has suspended further decision taking in light of the Government’s White Paper which plans to legislate for all state schools becoming academies by 2022.

Both Eskdale and Caedmon are currently council maintained schools and would be affected by this. Coun Arthur Barker, North Yorkshire’s executive member for schools said: “What we are now proposing is a pause for further consideration of how the Government’s stated ambitions might come about in Whitby while also addressing the very serious concerns that we have expressed as a local authority.” He added: “The consultation process has generated considerable interest and strong contributions but the challenges and our concerns about the entire secondary system in Whitby have not gone away.”

Eskdale had planned to expand from being a middle school to taking pupils from 11 to 16 from this year meaning the town would have two secondary schools. However the council then announced its plans to amalgamate Eskdale and Caedmon. At a public meeting last month some speakers claimed the decision was a foregone conclusion after the council set out plans for the combined school which would be led by Caedmon’s headteacher.

At the same meeting Pete Dwyer, the council’s corporate director for children and young people’s services said the amalgamation plan was about securing education improvement in the town.

The special meeting of the Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee which had been called to consider the County Council’s amalgamation proposal for Whitby’s secondary schools on Friday, will now be postponed.

Committee chairman Coun Janet Jefferson said: “I am pleased that so many people have engaged with the consultation process and were willing to come to our meeting on Friday. I believe the scrutiny committee has a vital contribution to make in helping the executive come to an informed decision about how best to achieve quality secondary education provision in Whitby.

“Now that the executive has stated its intention to explore all other options before reaching a decision, in line with the Government’s newly published guidance about academies, it seems sensible to postpone Friday’s committee meeting in Whitby, but I do look forward to reconvening the committee on an appropriate future date when much more information will be available.”