Parents of children at a Colchester school on special measures have made it clear that they want to see it remain open.

More than 40 parents and children of St Anne's Primary School and Nursery met with experts from the Local Education Authority (LEA) last night to talk through the options for the school, which has been in special measures for three years.

But the LEA said term visits by school inspectors continued to identify weaknesses in education and it did not believe the school has the capacity to come out of special measures.

The school roll is also falling and there are currently 124 pupils at the Barnardiston Road school.

The county council is considering two options either to close it on August 31, 2004, and reopen it the next day as a 210-place primary school under the Fresh Start scheme, or to close it altogether.

Pat Collard, principal adviser on inspection for the LEA, told the meeting Fresh Start, which would give it an extra £125,000 a year for three years, was the council's preferred option.

She said: "We are doing everything we can because we believe this community wants and needs this school."

Catherine Brenner, who has two children at the school, said: "We have watched this situation deteriorate over time.

"Parents who are here (at the meeting) do want this school to be here."

Shane Hughes, who has two children at the school, said: "There is no school in Colchester that could have given the children a better education."

Published Friday, June 27, 2003

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