Headteacher welcomes the academies
A HEADTEACHER has welcomed the plans to replace seven schools with five new academies.
Blurton High School headteacher Richard Balukiewicz spoke out following Stoke-on-Trent City Council's decision to publish closure notices for the schools at the Executive and Members Board (EMB) meeting on Wednesday.
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PLEASED: Blurton High School headteacher Richard Balukiewicz.
The notices, which will be published on Monday, mean the first steps towards physically building the city's £250 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme can now be taken.
Mr Balukiewicz said: "This is great news for our community. Now we can begin to look forward to a new era for the children of Blurton."
The statutory notices propose the closure of Berry Hill, Blurton, Brownhills, Edensor, James Brindley, Mitchell and St Peter's high schools. A six-week public consultation will follow.
Councillor Mohammed Pervez, deputy elected mayor and political spokesperson for children and young people's services, said: "The decision to publish closure notices is a significant step in the BSF programme and we are now looking forward to delivering the proposals which will bring improvements to the education of the city's children."
5 Comments
by Anthony, US Virgin Islands
Tuesday, May 19 2009, 6:57PM
“Barry you obviously went to a top school as your punctuation, syntax and grammer are apalling. You could learn about tenses and the use of the apostrophe from the fine English teachers at Trentham.
Have a nice holiday and don't come back.”
by Anthony, Home
Tuesday, May 19 2009, 6:54PM
“The man Balukiewicz is a clown and what is worse having met him he is a self opinionated clown who knows best very nu labour. He will not consult his staff or the parents of his pupils because he like Tony Blair who thought up academies knows what is best for us all.”
by BARRY, U.S. Virgin Islands
Tuesday, May 19 2009, 9:27AM
“The poshenders don't like it when we talk about Academy's,I think they (the children of Trentham have lost out big-time) lets wait a few years,time will tell..The poshenders will only have them selves to blame,it will be they who will have to explain to their children, and grandchildren, why you made a terrible mistake .”
by Steve, Trentham
Sunday, May 17 2009, 5:18PM
“Surely Mr Balukiewicz should be working with the people within the community to bring the best educational opportunities to Blurton.
Is this a case of a community being held to ransome willing to accept anything to get the funding which is desperately needed?
£1 spent wisely is worth more than £250 Million down the drain.
Patience is the true virtue here as time is running out for the few individuals left trying to justify the original proposals under bsf for Stoke on Trent rather than working to work with schools and communities to deliver a program which will offer our children the best opportunities.”
by Nicky, pitsnpots.co.uk
Sunday, May 17 2009, 12:40PM
“I don¿t quite know where this guy Balukiewicz had his head buried when hundreds voted against an academy and only one for at the consultation at Britannia Stadium. How could he not notice? That fact is even in Ged Rowney¿s report. Admittedly some there were from Trentham but a fair number were from Blurton. What do the governors think about this and how are they considering the views of parents? The community were promised a new school years ago but want a community school, not an academy. It would be interesting to see the views expressed during the statutory consultation period which now commences.”