Parents raise funds for legal fees in school fight

PARENTS and carers are battling to keep a Tyneside primary school open.

- By EMILY GRAY Reporter [e-mail]

More than £2,000 has been raised to fund a possible legal challenge over North Tyneside Council proposals to shut Hazlewood Community Primary School in Wideopen and merge it with Greenfields Primary School.

Following the launch of a consultation over the future of several schools across North Tyneside due to falling pupil numbers, the primary school is one of six facing either closure or merger, alongside Monkseaton Middle School, and could see the district's biggest education shakeup in decades.

Sarah Stokoe, mother to nine-year-old special educational needs pupil Jacob Fearon, set up the GoFundMe campaign page and said money will go towards legal fees for staff with jobs at risk.

At time of writing, £2,025 has been raised, and Sarah said: “We're getting a lot of support,’ having exceeded their target several times.

Explaining the reason behind the campaign, Sarah said parents “no longer believe it is classed as a merger but a closure of Hazlewood”.

She said: “It was confirmed in the council meeting it will not be North Tyneside who decides but the governing bodies.