PARENTS are being urged to fight plans to amalgamate two secondary schools.
News that Passmores School and Stewards School could be merged by September 2000, has left the two headteachers stunned and angry.
They are urging parents to write to the county council in protest.
The education bombshell, which was dropped through the schools letterboxes on Monday morning, has been proposed by the county council to reduce surplus places.
Passmores headteacher and Harlow Schools Consortium spokesman Peter Jarman has described the plans as a terrible blow to the town.
He said: The news is really upsetting and its the worst thing that could happen to Harlow.
I want to encourage parents all over the town to support us. The committee is very wary of pressures from the public and I am hoping the strength of feeling will be sufficient to persuade councillors.
Bill Rammell MP said he would lobby MPs if the merger gets the go-ahead.
Essex County Council asked its education committee to review the space surplus in Harlow schools in July.
Consultations took place, and councillors gave assurances that schools would not be closed. The schools put in proposals for using their spare capacity.
At its meeting at county hall, Chelmsford, on Monday, the committee will recommend that further consultations be held.
Mr Jarman said: If schools are merged it will reduce freedom of choice for parents who have made it clear they prefer smaller schools. From my experience, smaller schools produce a better quality of education.
Equally shocked, Stewards headteacher Rhonda Murthar said: We feel there are six viable schools in Harlow and there are no educational reasons for closures. Money is being raised at the expense of education.
There are ways we can use this surplus positively to boost education.
Stewards ward councillor Lorna Spenceley said: The county council is being rushed into amalgamation by the governments insistence on reducing surplus spaces, irrespective of the impact on schools and communities.
She said spaces were left by Harlow children attending Hertfordshire schools, and she feared the proposal would further encourage parents to look beyond Harlow.
Passmores ward and county councillor Mervyn Juliff said he was disappointed no alternative could be found.
The county councils senior planning and admissions manager Brian Catt said: By reducing surplus space we can generate funding to invest in the quality of school places in Harlow.
Previous public meetings functioned to alert people in Harlow to the surplus spaces. He confirmed there would be further consultations.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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