Three former governors of Boroughbridge High School have called for the potential closure of its sixth form to be stopped.
It comes as parents await the decision of the federated governing body of Boroughbridge High School and King James’s School in Knaresborough, which met last night.
The school held a consultation with staff, students, parents/carers and governors from mid-November to mid-December 2021. It asked for thoughts on the ‘suspension of the sixth form for up to two years’.
If the plan goes ahead then the sixth form will not reopen in September.
The Stray Ferret asked current chair Malcolm Dawson for the outcome of last night’s meeting but he declined to comment, saying parents would be notified first.
It is unclear when the results will be announced publicly.
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The consultation process and the decision itself has come under scrutiny in the last week.
Dr Ron Nixon, a former GP and one of the school’s founding governors, told the Stray Ferret:
“I just do not understand how this has happened. I do not like the smell of it. If it does close for two years then, realistically, what are the chances of it reopening?
“The closure of the sixth form would not only be a disaster for the school but also the wider community, which has grown rapidly over recent years.”
Brian Dooks, who served as a governor of Boroughbridge Primary School and Boroughbridge High School for nearly 20 years, told the Stray Ferret:
“I am disturbed and alarmed to learn that Boroughbridge High School could be about to lose its on-site sixth form.
“I was one of the governors who fought long and hard for the creation of the sixth form, which was attended by my two daughters.
“My former governors will take some serious persuading that it will not rapidly become a permanent solution to the detriment of generations of young people.
“In the last 10 years the Boroughbridge population has exploded. If there was justification for a sixth form in the 1990s, that must be true in 2022.”
Another former chair of governors, who asked not to be named, added:
“I just want the school to succeed. This was meant to be a consultation with parents but I am struggling to find parents who knew anything about it. They are angry.”
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