Mission Statement

"Our mission is to retain within Clare and rural areas, primary and secondary schools that will realise the full educational and social potential of our children and young people".

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Friday 13 November 2009

Press release issued from MP Tim Yeo's office

PRESS RELEASE - HIGH LEVEL EDUCATION MEETING AT HOUSE OF COMMONS

South Suffolk MP, Tim Yeo, set up a meeting at the House of Commons for a delegation from Clare & Local Area for Rural Education (C.L.A.R.E.) with Nick Gibb MP, the Conservative Shadow Minister for Schools.

The meeting was arranged so that C.L.A.R.E. could explain to Nick Gibb their proposal for Clare Middle School to become a new secondary school, Stour Valley Community College (SVCC), (based on the parent and community management ethos, particularly in respect of curriculum provision, pupil admission numbers and environmental impact, for pupils from Clare and the surrounding rural villages), and to determine whether the proposal matched Conservative Education Policy. Currently, Suffolk County Council are intending to close the existing school and bussing children to much larger schools in Bury St Edmonds or Sudbury in future.

The C.L.A.R.E. Chair, Jim Meikle, thanked Tim Yeo for his continuing and stalwart support and for setting up the very encouraging meeting. After seeing the plans, Nick Gibb MP confirmed that the campaign group's proposal was absolutely in line with Conservative Education Policy and therefore would be fully supported if the Conservative won the General Election. Nick Gibb thought that if a Conservative Government came into power next year it should not be too late to intervene in Suffolk County Council’s SOR process to ensure that the new upper school proposal was given the go-ahead.

C.L.A.R.E. emphasised their belief that the new school would be good value for money and Nick Gibb advised that their ‘New Academy’ secondary schools, such as the SVCC plan, would be funded direct by a Conservative Government through the per capita budget formula and separate grant funds for project development.

After the meeting Tim Yeo said: "This was a very constructive talk. It's clear that the schools policy of the next Conservative Government will be totally supportive of initiatives like this one for Clare. In the meantime, I hope that Suffolk County Council will not take any steps which could jeopardise the chances of this genuinely excellent project getting off the ground."

The CLARE campaign is supported by Tim Yeo, governors, parents, local businesses and Cllr Jane Midwood the County Council member for Clare.