Isle of Wight School merger plan voted down at meeting

News of the updated recommendation arrived as pupils, parents and teachers protested outside the council buildings

A plan to close an island school has been voted down by councillors.

Isle of Wight Council had recommended to merge Carisbrooke College with Medina College, meaning the former would close.

Pupils, parents and teachers protested outside the council building ahead of a meeting on Wednesday.

Councillors voted for a revised recommendation, issued hours before the full council meeting, to keep the college open.

The school in Newport had been recommended for closure as part of plans to tackle over-capacity at the island's secondary schools.

The island has 1,900 surplus places, according to the council.

The authority said sizes of some schools would be adjusted "to better match the future needs across the island".

'Collective responsibility'

Three options were put forward; retaining the current six secondary schools but adjusting their sizes, merging Carisbrooke and Medina Colleges on the Carisbrooke site or merging both colleges on the Medina site.

According to the council papers, the Department for Education has said future investment in Carisbrooke College is dependant on a business case being made.

Pupils protested at the council buildings with placards, some using head teacher Peter Shaw's name as a theme

An option is being put forward to close Newport's Carisbrooke College

Peter Shaw, head teacher of the school, said: "It all hinges on the quality of the business case.

"I don't want the school to be abandoned now and told to produce a business case, it's a collective responsibility."

Education has been run by Hampshire County Council since 2013 following concerns over standards on the island.

In 2008, Isle of Wight Council scrapped the island's three-tier education system for two tiers, which led to the closure of some schools.

Four of the island's six secondary schools were rated "inadequate" in their Ofsted reports from 2012 - the lowest grade.