Sewell ward councillors Alex Catt and Gary Champion have written to Norwich North MP, Chloe Smith, regarding the future of Angel Road school. The councillors’ letter appears below, in full.
Dear Chloe Smith MP,
As the member of Parliament for Norwich North, I am sure you are aware, both parents and residents in the wider community have been concerned about the ongoing situation at Angel Road Junior School. The original site has now been closed since July of last year with pupils moved to Angel Road Infant School and to St Clements Hill Primary School.
Since then, it has emerged that the original site at Angel Road will not reopen with Evolution Academy Trust intending for all pupils across both schools to be accommodated at the infant school site permanently.
Many parents are increasingly concerned that this will lead to a reduction in provision for children at both schools with indoor space, halls, a library and other facilities available at the original site not set to be replaced by the Trust. This means that both schools will be required to share facilities instead of having their own dedicated spaces.
In addition to this, there are concerns about the future of the original site with this merger going ahead and the site being returned to Norfolk County Council. This site has a lot of community significance with the building dating back to the early 1900’s, giving a lot of character to the local area and many people having a strong desire for the school to be reopened or at least retained for the community.
We have been informed that the cost of repairing Angel Road Junior School currently sits at £1.8 million. We have also seen plans for what they would ideally like the merged site to look like which total £4.7 million and have not been approved by the Trust. However the actual plans approved to go ahead in order to accommodate all pupils at the site are significantly lower at only £1 million.
This raises serious questions about the level of provision that would exist at this merged site following the proposed plans. It seems costings exist for what work would be needed to make sure the site matches or exceeds the provision currently existing at both separate sites but the Trust is only going ahead with works significantly lower than this, it is a foregone conclusion that the provision of facilities for pupils across both sites will be much lower as a result of this merger, an outcome that surely we should all be trying our hardest to avoid.
At the same time, we have an empty school site which has now sat vacant for nearly a year. If repairs were to be made to this site, we could put an end to the ongoing disruption, pupils will be able to return to their original school with no reduction in provision and the wider community would be able to keep a site that they care so deeply about. This would mean a much better outcome for our children, parents and residents while not carrying the significantly higher price tag of £4.7 million.
However, in order to do this, the Trust would require support from Norfolk County Council, yourself and the Department of Education. Will you commit to meeting with us to discuss how we can all work together to achieve the best outcome for children’s education that saves Angel Road Junior School?
We look forward to hearing from you.
Councillor Alex Catt and Councillor Gary Champion
Norwich City Councillors representing Sewell ward.
