About 50 parents from Coombe Road, Bevendean and St Martin's attended the protest on Saturday in Bartholomew Square.
The whole event was a big success, with Anne receiving a petition of about 3200 signatures from across Brighton which she has passed on to Gil Sweetehnam and the Working Group. She intends to speak about the petition and on behalf of anti-proposal protesters at the Children, Families and Schools' Commmittee on 29th January.
Many children came with brightly painted banners and big smiles to make their views heard, which they did very clearly throughout as they shouted, "We want choice!" and, "Think again" amongst other slogans.
Cate Miller spoke after the petition handover, calling out areas that had parents at the demonstration. These included: Portslade, Coombe Road, Bevendean, Moulsecoomb, Balfour, Surrenden, Westdene, Withdean, Preston Park and Prestonville. She made it clear that Schools4Communities demands are not unreasonable as she stated that change was needed, but not at any price. The cost to the children's education across large swathes of the city is too great. She also said that parents want proper consultation. There were cheers throughout.
The bad weather held off. As someone I know remarked, "God shines on the righteous!" Believer or not, this blog is obviously not in support of the proposals as they stand. What we want is not impossible to achieve: proposals that are set out reasonably; that are arrived at in a transparent process that makes data and evidence available for all to see and that are also informed by proper consultation with parents.
The protest achieved excellent publicity from the Argus and South Today. You can see the reports here:
South Today: Parents Protest In Catchment Row
Argus: Outrage Over Schools Plan
There has also been a report today about children that were missing from the original data used in the Varndean/Stringer dual catchment.
Argus: 66 "Lost" Children Fuel School Admission Row
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