***Notice: Demo at CF&S Decision Meeting Tonight!***

Parents will be gathering to demonstrate for and against the proposals outside the Children, Families & Schools Committee Meeting this evening at Brighton Town Hall from 4pm. The meeting starts at 5pm. You can see the meeting, but will need to go to the Council reception and get yourself an entry ticket. You should do this as soon as you arrive.

Please note, the meeting as at BRIGHTON TOWN HALL in BARTHOLEMEW SQUARE. (Not at Hove Town Hall as it was last time.)

Bring whistles, banners, and your children if they are up to it. This is your last chance to get your voice heard. If you do not take responsiblity yourselves and speak out, no one else can for you.

Clearly, I would like the vote to go against the proposals, as I feel that they are unfair to my area, Moulsecoomb, Bevendean and Coombe Road, but also to many other areas in the city. They will destroy the lovely community that has developed here. I don't think anyone has really heard how they will affect us. The mantra of "doing what's best for the whole city" seems like a way of closing ears to our concerns, rather than actually recognising that the city is made up of communities and each community's interests must be heard properly in order for the right decision that is "best for the city as a whole" to be made.

I find it unbelievable that people accuse Juliet McCaffery of thinking just of her area. She listened to families from this area and responded to them, she spoke to people from Patcham and Portslade. She debated with us; she questioned our stance. We had to persuade her and it took time. Moreover, there is no shame in being persuaded. She certainly did not sell out or act selfishly for her own Ward. She actually listened to the parts of the city that she had not heard from. And then, after all that, she made the difficult decision of breaking with the Labour group. I don't think anyone would choose to do that unless they were driven by a strong moral imperative. It is not an easy thing to do. Since the CF&S meeting on 2nd February she has been denied the opportunity by the Council to speak publicly and defend her decision. Judgement has been passed without proper trial.

I still do not think that the concerns of many of the parents living in the Longhill catchment, or the catchment for Portslade Community College have been heard. Not only that, but Patcham parents have also had a raw deal. All these areas will suffer from lack of choice.

We have never had an easy entry into secondary schools here. It has always been a lottery for our children, but at least there was a chance of a choice. That will be denied us under the new system. If these proposals are voted in, our families will assume the burden as our choice is removed and our local school is denied anything near a comprehensive intake. We won't have the lottery, but we won't have the choice either - many of our parents want the choice more. Even then, comprehensive intakes are the most vital thing: if Falmer were given a more comprehensive intake, we might have been prepared to compromise. We are supporting Falmer, we have fought for a broader intake for the school all along; we want the school to have a chance to build on its "improving" status.

We are fed the supposed panacea of the Academy, and you will forgive us if we are skeptical. New buildings are all very well, but we are most concerned about opportunities for our children to learn and prepare for adulthood and the demands of the workplace. We want to know that the school will not be a Secondary Modern in Academy clothing. The emphasis on work related learning is all very well, but when the government wants 50% of teenagers to go to university, then you know that the job market will begin to require a degree as standard, and to study for degrees you need a good academic education. Vocational training is right in some cases, but can also narrow young people's opportunities rather than expand them. There are frequently articles in the press about our young people's failure to provide the workplace with basic skills (communication and numeracy) or transferable skills (languages, IT skills, analytical skills for example). Vocational training is all very well, but, I would argue, should not be the foundation for a child's education.

In addition, a real comprehensive education, in which children are exposed to a variety of people from different backgrounds, will give them confidence when they grow up to build good relationships with people from all walks of life. I regard this as equally important as it can counter the intolerance and prejudice born of ignorance, and open up new horizons for our young people. That is why I want a more comprehensive Falmer, and that is why the whole city should fight for a more comprehensive admissions system.

If you are against the SAR proposals, don't give up on the city yet. Give it one more chance to make the right decision. Get yourself down to Brighton Town Hall today at 4pm and scream your lungs out for your community, and for those areas that will lose out on diversity at their local school and choice!