THE campaign to protect Penpont Primary School from council cuts continues to gain momentum with a petition, a protest and a pledge of support from Dame Joanna Lumley.
Parents and staff are fighting against the decision to reduce the number of classrooms at the 50-pupil primary from three to two, with Dumfries and Galloway Council citing projected pupil numbers as the reason.
Since taking up their cause the community has joined forces with Small and Rural School Alliance Dumfries and Galloway [the alliance].
Furthermore, TV actress Dame Joanna Lumley – who owns a home near Penpont – has also pledged her support.
On Monday members from both groups held a picnic protest outside the council headquarters in Dumfries and handed over a petition signed by over 700 supporters.
Afterwards, a spokesperson for the alliance stated: “Dumfries and Galloway Council is not actively managing the future of our children, it’s trying to make our children pay for the political mismanagement over decades. This needs to stop and children, in particular rural children, need to be treated with equal rights and a good education. It’s time to create a future of rural schooling all together.”
The reduction in the number of classes has raised a lot of concern among parents of children with additional needs, as 46 per cent of current pupils require additional support for learning.
Now Penpont Primary Parent Council and the alliance are calling for an immediate halt to staffing cuts and demanding a full, inclusive consultation, inviting Dumfries and Galloway Council into open dialogue to protect both their school and all rural schools in the region.
Samantha Gomes, who is a parent and chair of the parent council, added: “We’re not just numbers on a spreadsheet. These are our children, our futures, our lives.
“They tell us rural communities matter, but then they rip the soul out of them by cutting schools without even asking us. It feels like a betrayal.”
