Area education shake-up meeting venue 'too small'

A row has erupted as it emerged a public meeting over a shake-up of education in South Staffordshire, affecting hundreds of pupils, will be restricted to just 180 people.

Staffordshire County Council wants to close 128-pupil Bilbrook Middle School and make changes to catchment areas, which would affect admissions to Codsall and Perton schools.

More than 800 pupils are on the rolls at the three schools. The council is holding a public meeting over the controversial proposals at The Legion, Codsall, on July 4, but is warning places will be "limited".

Perton parish councillor Penny Allen today accused bosses of "stifling opposition" and called for a larger venue to be booked instead.

However, the county council said it had gone for the "best option".

Bilbrook Middle, which opened in 1976, has space for 351 pupils, with only 128 currently on the roll. This is expected to continue to fall. It is estimated that by January 2016 there could be as few as 117 on the roll.

Pupils displaced by the closure, scheduled for this summer, will be offered places at Codsall Middle School.

The meeting on July 4, at the Wood Road venue, will start at 7pm.