The Leader of the Liberal Democrats, on a recent visit to the Manchester area, took time out of his busy schedule to meet leaders of Todmorden High School. Chair of Governors, Hilary Myers, and Headteacher, Patrick Ottley-O’Connor, spoke to Nick Clegg about their concerns for the future of Todmorden and Calder High Schools. Both Upper Valley high schools are local priorities for rebuilding under the current government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. But Calderdale has been repeatedly knocked back for BSF in favour of other more deprived local authorities. “It is very disappointing”, said Hilary Myers, “when we know that our students are every bit as in need of an adequate learning environment as students anywhere in the country. But the current system is not flexible and cannot easily take account of local circumstances.”
Speaking afterwards to an audience of ordinary voters at Rochdale Town Hall, Nick Clegg answered questions on the war in Afghanistan, the recession and the national debt, the state of our democracy, healthcare and education. Asked about funding for education he responded, “How do we fill the black hole of education without short-changing our children? We need to target resources at those in greatest need.” He said BSF was a good scheme in principle but said he had major doubts about how it was working in practice in some areas. He went on to underline the importance of creating equality of opportunity for children of primary age. He said all the evidence showed that by the age of six or seven, a bright child from a poor family would be overtaken in class by a less bright child from a better off family. “This is just plain wrong”, he insisted. “Liberal Democrats would give schools extra funding for these children to stop them falling behind and to enable them to fulfil their potential.”
Patrick Ottley-O’Connor, who was a deputy headteacher in Rochdale before taking on the top job at Todmorden High at the start of 2008, was pleased to have the opportunity to put the case for the Upper Valley schools to one of the party leaders. “As results from both schools show, we have made exceptional progress in recent years, “ he said, “but so much money is being spent on the fabric of these buildings just to keep them open. As headteachers, Stephen Ball and I will continue to work with our Governing Bodies and with officers from the Local Authority, to press the politicians to take our case seriously.”
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