Brighton deaf school to close (From The Argus)
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Brighton deaf school to close
1:50pm Sunday 11th April 2010 in News By Emily Walker, Chief Reporter
A highly-rated school for deaf children is to close because of a lack of funding.
Ovingdean Hall School has been teaching pupils with severe hearing difficulties for more than 60 years but will close at the end of the summer term.
Pupils, parents and teachers have been told that the school in Greenways, Brighton, will close on July 19.
Ovingdean Hall is a non-maintained special school, meaning it receives funding for children with special needs to attend from across the country.
However changes to government policy have seen more children with special needs being sent to mainstream schools and the number of children at Ovingdean Hall has fallen drop.
The school received outstanding results in its latest Ofsted inspection but does not have the money to continue running next year.
There were hopes that the school would be able to merge with another school for deaf children.
Trustees from Hamilton Lodge School for Deaf Children in Walpole Road, Brighton, had spent months discussing a possible merger until a decision was made that it should not proceed last month, leaving the future of Ovingdean Hall in question.
The 28 pupils - aged ten to 19 - will have to find alternative schools before the end of the summer term.
Comments(10)
icansee
says...
3:04pm Sun 11 Apr 10
yorkie44
says...
4:45pm Sun 11 Apr 10
Allan
says...
10:35pm Sun 11 Apr 10
Gaz the great
says...
4:05pm Mon 12 Apr 10
booplady
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6:04pm Mon 12 Apr 10
yorkie44 wrote:hear hear
The council can find money for Pride and Marathons. They should support the disadvantaged not those who can support their own events.
booplady
says...
6:06pm Mon 12 Apr 10
Gaz the great wrote:Thank you Gaz the great for your support and very grateful. love that school and will be sorely missed!!!!!
I was at the King & Queen the other week & in the courtyard area was a very large number of pupils from this school. Although some were talking to each other, a great percentage of them were using sign. I cannot see how mainstream schools can provide future hearing-impaired pupils the level of time required to teach them, they struggle with normal hearing children, from what I have seen. Maybe one of our election hopefuls can comment on this page, it does need saving.
stan bailey
says...
10:11pm Mon 12 Apr 10
garyc
says...
2:25am Tue 13 Apr 10
booplady
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6:40pm Tue 13 Apr 10
stan bailey wrote:That's true!!!!!
I wonder what its beautiful grounds will be used for?
Christophe Hawtree says...
2:59pm Sun 11 Apr 10
Let us hope that the School's problems are sorted out and that some self-styled "developer" does not have his eyes on it.