Parents pledge to save Monkseaton High with future cast in doubt

Parents, carers, and concerned citizens packed out the Cullercoats Crescent Club to consider their next steps in keeping the school alive. The news was broken to parents on September 17 that the school faced significant challenges, including low birth rates, parental choice and a predicted £7m deficit.

Now, the council has opened a public consultation asking for feasible ideas to keep the school going after ruling out several options, from academisation to grouping the school with another under one governing body.

In response, the Monkseaton High School Parents Action Group has called on the local community to come together with their expertise and lobby to help keep hope for the school alive.

Speaker and parent Sophie O’Neill said: ” I appreciate that everyone in this room has different needs but it is clear the common ground is we need a clear pathway for our kids and some accountability as to how we got to this point. 

“We would like to see a commitment to the Government’s promise to break down the barriers to opportunity, expanding high-quality education and equal opportunities for all children.”

Sophie went on to say: “It [the consultation] is not only for the parents, it for the community, local businesses, local councillors everyone.”

The gathering was also an opportunity for parents to raise questions and concerns over the council’s consultation on the future of Monkseaton High School and its 511 children. Questions which have been put to the council range from potential extensions to the six-week consultation to what happens to the school’s financial deficit.

Several parents also requested a more detailed breakdown of the school’s deficit as well as whether any impact assessment can be made available. The meeting heard that more than 50 questions on the future of the school had been raised by parents and other supporters.

Carl Angell Moir, head of year nine at Monkseaton High, thanked parents and the community for their support.

He said: “I just want to say from my point of view it is absolutely incredible to know that you have got the backing of parents and students, we are not here to hear about what we are like as staff or a school, although it is lovely to hear that.

“The fact of the matter has given us a bit of a boost knowing that we have got the support of a community we want to stick by and make this work. So I’ve come down here, I’m not going to talk on behalf of anyone else, because I want to say thank you for doing what you are doing. I was shocked when I walked into the room and saw how many people were here.”

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Mustaque Rahman, a former independent parliamentary candidate for Tynemouth, who was also present, said: ” My starting point tonight is the school doesn’t close, this consultation means nothing regarding the school closing. The school has to stay open and this consultation we are doing is in order to make sure it is run well.

“This defeatism talk that we’ve got about ‘where do our children go’? Our children go to Monkseaton High.”

A North Tyneside Council spokesperson said: “The consultation is centred around finding alternative proposals for the future of the school. We are regularly updating the Frequently Asked Questions on our consultation website as common questions emerge, to help with alternative proposals.

“We will keep updating the FAQs throughout the consultation period. You can find them on https://haveyoursay.northtyneside.gov.uk/“

Words: Austen Shakespeare, LDRS