Don't put cart before horse, say protesters

In an open letter, the group this week challenged key principles under which the new Bexhill High could be built, one of six in the country under the government's Pathfinder programme.

The action group was formed when proposals for traffic-calming in Gunters Lane were published.

It won a welcome concession with the help of county member Cllr Graham Gubby, when the county council agreed to review these measures taking into account the traffic conditions which would exist after the 1,650-place school opens in 2010.

Now the group says it is concerned that while planning permission for the new school will be sought later this month, revised traffic measures will not come under scrutiny until September.

Neighbours are concerned that the local road system will not support the increased traffic. They are worried that residential roads in the Glenleigh Park area will become rat-runs for parents.

While supporting the need for new premises for Bexhill High, they say the Gunters Lane site is too cramped to support a single new school for Bexhill.

They claim that parents of primary school children in the town have not been involved in the consultation process.

Chairman John Hollands says the action group believes a single replacement for the present Bexhill High would perpetuate a position where, with the exception of St Richard's College which is principally for Roman Catholic children, local parents have no choice of school.

His group says Government directives now favour smaller schools. It is pressing for a dual approach with a second new comprehensive to be built to serve the planned 1,200-home Worsham development and a smaller design than currently envisaged for the Gunters Lane site.

The current Gunters Lane scheme would produce one of the biggest schools in the county.

The action group argues that government research has shown that the best size to give the best education standards is a six-form entry establishment of 800-900 pupils.

The chairman says the group believes that because of the weakness of the consultation process the vast majority of parents in the town remain unaware that the Gunters Lane design is centred on "learning pods" containing as many as 80 pupils.

In their open letter, the group says:

"The terms and conditions of 'Pathfinder' and 'Building Schools For The Future' funding is a one-off payment for the school.

"Pathfinder funding is typically 50-150m, includes infrastructure costs and can in some circumstances fully fund a school.

"So why have Rother District Council and East Sussex County Council only asked for 33m from the Government and used 4.4m of taxpayers' money?

"Why are Rother and the county proposing to put a major school development on a site which is too small, inappropriately located and would not take further expansion?

"Why has the new school development not be planned on the Worsham re-development site, where there is ample space and new the schools' infrastructure costs and funding would be part of the overall development?

"How have the needs of the whole area been accounted for?

"What information was provided to Government to access funding?

"What are the long-term plans for this area based on increasing birth rate statistics and regeneration including the 1,200-home Worsham development?

"The Government states that it wants parents to have freedom of choice when choosing schools for their children. In Bexhill such choice is not available. The current plan to offer pupils one school but with different learning zones is not a substitute for providing parents with real choice between different types of schools."