St Sampson’s Infants’ School to close in 2010
Wednesday 24th September 2008, 2:29PM BST.
Two young pupils at the reprieved St Andrew’s Primary. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0643767)
ST ANDREW’S Primary School has escaped closure – but St Sampson’s Infants has not. It is due to close in July 2010.
St Andrew’s head teacher Mary Sebire was thrilled with the decision announced by Education this morning, but said that her thoughts were with the St Sampson’s community.
‘I am absolutely delighted for the whole of St Andrew’s – children, parents, staff and other parishioners. I thank everyone for their support, especially those on the PTA, who led such an excellent campaign,’ she said.
St Andrew’s PTA chairwoman Maria Tostevin and her predecessor, Alasdair McLaren, said: ‘This is a vote for parish life. The relief is enormous. We are planning a big party. At the same time, our hearts go out to the teachers, parents and pupils at St Sampson’s.’
St Sampson’s Infants head Anne Brouard was bitterly disappointed by the decision – but appreciated how difficult it had been to make.
More comments in today’s Guernsey Press. Tomorrow – reaction from the St Sampson’s Infants’ campaigners.
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what are they going to waste the £ 250,000 on or is that to help the overspend on the new schools
perhaps they could use the money to replace the monument to admiral sir james saumarez at delancey park if it had been nelson column
the germans had blown up it wouldnt be over 60 years before they replaced it perhaps our chief minister could look into it
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I think the whole new school project was a total waste of money. I was at St Sampsons School when the refit in 1996 was completed. Why have they gone and built that massive school down the road for? There was nothing wrong with the old St Sampsons school at all. Now they go and close St Sampsons school because they’ve got no money. If you had stayed with the old St Sampsons school there would’ve been money, but now a nice little school is too close.
Does anyone know what is happening to the old St Sampsons school?
It’s disgraceful really. I’m surprised that the new school was even agreed.
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So one day we hear that we need to reduce the tax cap on the wealthy, and then we hear that to “save money” a school will be closed. Hoorah for worshipping at the altar of the rich whilst telling our children that they don’t matter. Which of course they don’t in Guernsey. Unless mummy and daddy earn over £100K and own 6 cars each…
And geoff – i believe that money has already been found to rebuild an all singing, all dancing monument up at Delancey. So let’s tell the children, parents and teachers that their school is to close, but at least they can go and admire a flashy monument…
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Oh what a shame. It was a lovely school I was lucky enough to go there. I think everyone tried their hardest but it was a losing battle really.
I live in the UK now, but I can’t imagine what it would be like if I knew my daughter’s school was closing we would all be devastated. It is a school very similar to St Sampson’s, although Infants and Primary together, but with the closeness of all the pupils like we had.
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My dear old infants school going to close, what a shame. It may be 38 years since I turned up as a nervous little girl for her first day but how great it was to get to know children living so close to me that I could easily go and play with outside of school time; or to be able to walk home or to my grandparents with my Mum who always picked us up. Vale Infants always seemed so much more scary and imposing and “so far away”!
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Meant to post this here:
This is the same lot of Education administrators who so badly under estimated the cost of education in the early 2000s.
There is no reason to believe their numeracy skills have improved in that last few years.
Therefore, their financial justification for the closure should be treated with caution.
I thought Paul’s contribution on the refurbishment of St Sampson’s in the mid 1990’s to be illuminating and timely.
I know the teaching unions had been telling education from the early 1990s about the needs of the Mare and Beaucamp.
Many would see those schools and the Mare primary as more suitable candidates for funding that the Arts Centre at the old St Peter Port school site.
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Infant schools come out the poor loser in the battle between tightly managed public expenditure and community needs.
However the current Urban and Rural area plans largely target the North and North East of the island for new housing – it is difficult to see the logic in closing the infant school in the N/NE area.
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I for one was not surprised when I heard that St Sampsons Infants School was the loser and is penned for closure in 2010. The money men with influence are in St Andrews with a higher volume of none locals. St Sampsons is predominantly local so the odds were stacked against them. I feel for St Sampsons staff, parents, pupils and of course the community as a whole. Let this decision be a lesson to all that it’s ‘who you know and not what you know’ in this island and of course one must not forget how much money one has….We must all get behind St Sampsons School and stop the closure.
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I really don’t see that the relatively small saving that will be made by closing this school can be justified. I see that all the St Sampson’s deputies will fight to reverse this decision – let us hope that the ST Andrew’s deputies will also support St Sampson’s School when the debate is held.
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