PROTECT TUNSTALL COMMUNITY

I would like to request that the description of this petition is changed to reflect the actual concerns of the people supporting it.

It currently reads...

"We ask for your support in keeping our village school, which has been serving our community since 1846

We, the undersigned, want to keep the school, to educate local children, not to relocate it, nor expand it, and not to use grade 2 agricultural land to do so"

If the objections raised by this petition are upheld and the relocation/expansion is not taken forward, the aims of the description would not be met. If successful the following needs considering:

1) The school is currently serving a wider community than just the Hamlet of Tunstall. Nothing would change with a relocation.
2) Without relocation and expansion the current school will not be allowed to continue as it currently is. Essentially, yearly pupil in-take would be halved (for starters), funding would be reduced and the possibility of lower ratings and Ofsted reports could signal a death knoll for the school. I do not mean immediate closure, but this petition, if successful would bring about major problems for sustainability.
3) The "grade 2 agricultural land" is already owned by KCC and has always been intended to be used for Educational use. Previous examinations have been for Fulston Manor to relocate to the site and should Tunstall Primary not relocate the site is still owned by KCC and WILL be used at some point for educational use. Would it not be better to be used to actually make improvements to the historically rich educational establishment already there?

In essence, I believe this petition to be a short-sighted "not on my doorstep" reaction and am unable to support it due to the implications of it's success. Nobody wants to upset local residents, especially the patrons of this fine school, however when faced with the damage that this petition seeks to introduce I believe people who have signed already should fully consider the difference better a better school to be proud of as opposed to a struggling school blighting the name of the village.