School closure fury

Upset parents staged a protest outside Herons Dale Special School, Shoreham, following proposals to shake up special needs education in West Sussex.

The county council has won 4.8million from the government to improve its special school accommodation in the south of the county from Septem-ber, 2004.

But its proposals to close two schools and change two others to primary school status have upset parents and pupils.

Highdown School in Worthing and St Cuthman's School, near Midhurst, will close, and Herons Dale in Shoreham and Palatine School in Goring will become school for primary-aged pupils, five to 11.

Older children will have to go to a new secondary school, possibly in Durrington. Lancing-based Jan Hughes's 13-year-old son attends Herons Dale School for children with moderate learning difficulties.

It has received excellent Ofsted inspection reports and has a unit for autistic children.

She said: "Under these new rules, he will have to leave Herons Dale in his last year and go to a new school. He has developed so well here and everyone knows these children with these conditions hate change.

Patricia Allwright took 18 months to get her autistic grandson Aaron into Herons Dale and he loves it.

She said: "He was so unhappy in mainstream school, but he describes Herons Dale as his family. He says he won't go to another school. Everyone is happy with the school, so why can't they just enlarge it rather than changing it?"

West Sussex County Council spokeswoman Jane Robinson said: "We know we are dealing with the most vulnerable children in the education system and their welfare is paramount. The final proposals will be published by the end of May."