FAMILIES 'MUST BE INVOLVED' OVER SCHOOL CLOSURE PLANS

Families must have a voice in “upsetting” decisions over school closures, Bridget Phillipson said yesterday.

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North Tyneside — where she was yesterday — has seen an outcry from parents in recent weeks over the Labour council's plans to shut or merge a number of schools in the area due to falling pupil numbers caused by a drop in birth rates.

Local authority bosses have faced a major backlash over proposals that would close Monkseaton Middle School and merge Forest Hall Primary with Ivy Road Primary, Greenfield Primary with Hazlewood Primary, and Langley First School with Appletree Gardens First School.