Whitby secondary schools merger 'should be delayed for fuller consultation’ says campaigner

Speaking at a Whitby Community Network meeting at Whitby Rugby Club on January 15, Emma Wilcock, a mother-of-two, said year six students were only months away from moving to the new school structure, having already had to face disruption caused by Covid in their young lives.

She said no solid plans had been given to parents and no answers to a lot of questions and said more time was needed to develop a proper plan, with consultations at various times and places needed to reach as many people as possible.

"There really isn’t much time,” she said. “It took us longer to bake these babies [than the time left until the merger happens] so we want guarantees that they are going where you’re saying.

"All we ask for is openness, integrity and leadership.”

But Brian Crosby, chair of the Whitby Secondary Partnership’s board of governors, said staff wanted to get things resolved and didn’t want to wait any longer – and claimed it would be “catastrophic” if the merger was delayed another year.

And executive leader Jonathan Britton said the plans were on track for the merger which would result in the closure of Eskdale School this summer.

As revealed earlier this month, a ‘new’ school for Whitby is going to be created on the site of the current Whitby Sixth Form – and Mr Crosby said 85% of people asked – staff, a students groups, headteachers and a parent panel – about a new name had gone for Whitby School, a previous name of the current Caedmon College site 30 years ago.

He said it should be a name that fitted the town.

Options included Whitby School – as “the name’s on the tin” – with other names inspired by the Endeavour and the heritage around it, the “iconic” Whitby Abbey and the River Esk and Esk Valley.

"We were excited about the Endeavour and its history, but 85% called it Whitby School.”

Amanda Newbould, North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for education and skills, said the council did not receive sufficiently large schools capital allocations to be able to commit to building a new secondary school – with a 1,000 place school costing more than £25m.

In March last year, the Department of Education allocated just over £6m to NYC for 2023-24 for all maintained schools in the county and she said it was “extremely unlikely in the current financial climate” that a new school would be considered, but it would be if funding streams were available.

She said the future of the Eskdale site, after closure, was “a matter for elected members” but would include an assessment of sports and community facilities, green space, biodiversity and other requirements.

The plan from September 2024 is for year seven and eight students to be located at the Whitby Sixth Form site and years 10 and 11 and Sixth Form student based at the Caedmon College site in preparation for or completion of examination studies.

Beyond that, the Whitby Secondary Partnership intends to create the new school for 2030 with space to add additional capacity and with the closure and sale of Caedmon, as well as Eskdale, a consideration to generate extra investment for the extra accommodation.

Mr Britton said: “We know we will not satisfy all the views in this room but we will look at the benefits and disadvantages in the partnership to make a final decision conscious of timescales.

"We are seeking a specialist curriculum for the school and we’re working with our colleagues and the children to get this curriculum right and looking at finances to put it on a strong footing.”

He also confirmed the college’s long-awaited Ofsted report was due out this week.

People at the 50-strong meeting were given the opportunity to voice their fears.

Parent Emily Price said people were feeling disheartened and had no confidence what was being said or done.

Twelve months has passed since news of the merger was first announced, but only seven months remain until the face of education in Whitby changes significantly – Terri-Anne Jones, of Save Education in Whitby, said the current model “should have been done last January”.

Dave Bradley, who was headteacher at Eskdale School from 1991 to 2005, reluctantly accepted that “the ship had sailed” on his preference of having two 11-16 schools at Eskdale and Caedmon and that it was very difficult to keep young people engaged.

"I find it ridiculous that we are contemplating putting £10m into a maritime hub on a flood plain.

"That £10m would do so much to start to put together a reasonable secondary school for Whitby.

"There’s no aspiration from North Yorkshire Council – where is the vision for young people?

"We stand in front of children and tell them to reach for the stars – we haven’t done that at all.

"We will close the school because it’s convenient for the building plot.

"What a terrible outlook for these young people.”

Concerns have been raised over the safety of students crossing between the two school sites.

Richard Barr, area manager for county highways, spoke about plans to signalise Spital Bridge junction, the other side of the high level bridge from the Sixth Form site.

He said one of the concerns that came out of a trial closing of Whitby’s Swing Bridge was the impact of that closure on that junction – and the public realm area improvements will see funding to signalise Spital Bridge junction, with four signals and pedestrian phases.

Mr Barr said: “We’re hoping to start construction after the summer holidays, in September or October, to get the signal crossing in place.

He ruled out a roundabout at the junction as the cost would be too prohibitive.