CAMPAIGNERS protesting over the proposed closure of Eskdale School in Whitby have submitted a 54-page response to a consultation on its merger.

North Yorkshire County Council has been consulting on plans to merge the school with the town’s Caedmon College. It would mean a single school in Whitby for 11 to 19 years olds and the closure of the Eskdale site.

Under the proposals the schools would be merged from September this year and have a single governing body and headteacher.

The public consultation ends tomorrow (Tuesday, April 5) and Save Eskdale School Campaign Group has submitted its response to the council in a 54-page response.

In the group’s response, it states: “The report states that it would be in the 'best interests of children' and 'that a single organisation would most likely secure high quality provision'. How can proposing a single school on a split site, separated by a major arterial road and by a distance of one kilometre, be their best interests?”

The group also argues that students have a greater sense of belonging and individual attention in a smaller school, which is good for their emotional and mental development and academic achievement.

Former deputy headteacher of Eskdale, Peter Sawer, who taught at the school for 30 years before retiring, said he was concerned that at a public information evening held by North Yorkshire County Council, it had already decided on a uniform, the name of the new school and where each year group would go in September.

Mr Sawer said: “If this is a consultation, then why is that being done?

“It’s far too soon. I think the people of Whitby would have been far happier if there had been a discussion about the future of education in Whitby on a level playing field. If they had had some say in it and then looked at all the options rather than the one being put on the table.”

North Yorkshire County Council said their aim was to secure high-quality education across the area and bringing Eskdale and Caedmon together would make “an improvement in standards more achievable and more practical to sustain”.

Pete Dwyer, director for the Children and Young People’s Service, said: “It’s important for children now, and in the future, that we look seriously at the challenges secondary education faces in the Whitby area and I remain concerned about how to ensure that secondary education in Whitby is of the highest quality, including a good and viable post-16 offer. Bringing the two schools together would create the potential for a more financially secure future.”

A report on the outcome of the consultation will be presented to a meeting of the county council’s executive on April 26. The final decision is likely to be made on June 14. If councillors agree to the amalgamation, the amalgamation would go ahead this September, but students would be taught at Eskdale for a further year.