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A petition calling for a secondary school to remain open after its shock closure, has been created.
High Weald Academy, in Cranbrook, is set to close at the end of this academic year due to low pupil numbers and following consistently poor Ofsted ratings, Leigh Academies Trust, which runs the school, announced on Monday afternoon.
Students in Years 7-10 have been offered places at one of the trust's other schools- Mascalls Academy in Paddock Wood, which is 11 miles from the Angley Road school. The school does not have a sixth-form.
Parents reacted with outrage and devastation to the news, criticising Leigh Academies Trust (LAT) for the handling of the announcement, as well as the short timespan they have to raise their objections and find new school places for their children, if they don't want them to go to Mascalls.
LAT, which took over running the academy in September after merging with Brook Learning Trust, has launched a "listening exercise" until October 25, which school principal Nigel Jones said in a letter to parents, will hear views on how, not if, the school will close.
During a Staplehurst Parish Council meeting, parents spoke of their plans to fight the decision, and now a petition has been set up, calling for its reversal.
It was created by a parent of a primary school aged child, who was planning on sending them to High Weald Academy.
The petition was set up on the UK Parliament Petition website, and having received five signatures, it is now being checked that it meets required standards, before being published on the website.
A post publicising the petition on a Facebook group dedicated to saving the school, has received over 30 shares.
Katie Bond, parent to High Weald Academy Year 9 pupil Max, explained why she had signed the petition.
Miss Bond said: "We have had no prior consultation or indication the school was in trouble. I just think it's a great shame, the children have been through so much. My son since he started at High Weald has barely been at school because of Covid.
"Mascalls isn't really a local school, it's 11 miles away for us.
"My son has friends that live far away, Mascalls isn't an option for them, it means they would have to get up at the crack of dawn and get home really late, and that's not fair.
"There are loads of grammar schools in the area, but there isn't much choice for a non selective school."
Miss Bond added that the most recent Ofsted monitoring inspection showed signs of improvements at the school.
LAT is planning on turning the High Weald Academy site into a provision for children with autism, aged between 11-18, which would be part of Snowfields Academy in Bearsted.
Miss Bond questioned why the trust couldn't to run High Weald Academy from the site, alongside the Snowfields Academy campus.
"It just seems they are not willing to try and keep it open," she said.
She added: "We just need to do everything we can."
A letter to parents, laying out further clarification on the closure, said there would not be enough room for a SEN school and High Weald Academy on the site. Further, it would still leave the academy struggling to cover its own financial costs.
Parents have October 22 to accept the Mascalls offer, or find a different place for their children.
Year 10 students will only be taught at High Weald Academy until the end of December.
Meanwhile, Maidstone and the Weald MP Helen Grant has called a public meeting to discuss the closure.
The MP says she strongly opposes the decision and has called for people for raise their objections in the "listening exercise".
Ms Grant said: "I appreciate that this is a very unsettling and uncertain time for parents, pupils, and teachers at the school.
"This is an opportunity for people to voice their concerns and provide suggestions for the future of the High Weald Academy."
"I have been clear in my opposition to this decision and continue to work to find a solution.’
The meeting will take place on Friday 8th October from 10:30am – 12:00pm, at Cranbrook’s Vestry Hall. All parents, teachers, and relevant stakeholders have been encouraged to attend.
LAT said the Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, decided to close the school by mutual agreement with LAT.
The trust said the decision was a "last resort".
It added that "very low pupils numbers and the financial pressures that brings have made it challenging to turn the school around."
High Weald Academy currently has 276 pupils, with a capacity of 1020, according to Ofsted.
