A petition to save a Brighton school from closure has almost 10,000 signatures, with parents now lobbying the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
The petition is headed “Give all deaf children a fair chance” and was started last month in response to a proposal to close Hamilton Lodge, a specialist school for deaf children.
It was started by Helen Husbands, whose daughter Isabelle, 14, attends the school in Walpole Road, Brighton.
She spoke of the joy felt by children at the school just two years ago as they appeared on Strictly Come Dancing when deaf EastEnders star Rose Ayling-Ellis was a contestant. She went on to win the series.
Ms Husbands said: “Staff and pupils were so buoyed by Rose’s success on Strictly. They were full of hope and optimism and it’s heartbreaking that they now face a very uncertain future.”
The family relocated from Surrey to Hove in 2017 so that Isabelle could attend Hamilton Lodge as a day pupil. The specialist school also has boarders.
But Hamilton Lodge Trust, which runs the school, plans to close the school and college next August, citing a decline in pupil numbers.
Ms Husbands said that the shock news was delivered to students when they returned from the summer holidays in September.
She said: “School is a second home for students who now face the prospect of living even further away from home to pursue their education.
“Some will have already experienced school trauma from years spent in the wrong setting at huge cost to their mental health.”
Parents are calling on the Education Secretary to review urgently the declining provision for deaf children who need an education delivered in British sign language and English.
Among the 10,000 people backing the petition is the actress Rachel Shenton who won an Oscar for her film, inspired by British sign language, The Silent Child.
The British Deaf Association said: “We strongly object to the closure of this school.”
The charity said that it was crucial for the government to explore how Hamilton Lodge could continue to serve deaf children.
The association said: “While we recognise the challenges involved, we urge a thorough review of alternatives that would allow this essential institution to continue its vital work.”
The Department for Education said: “We have made it our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.
Signing a petition is cheap. They need money
Indeed and how many of those that have signed it live in the city?
And this closure is down to the trust that runs it not the city council.
https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2024/09/10/another-brighton-school-to-close-next-summer/
Student capacity 85
Current student roll: 31
They get government funding per student.
Student numbers are below what it costs to run the place.
The trustees are doing the correct thing as trustees.
Just another consequence of dropping birth rates.
Sad for the 31 and anyone else that may follow. Sad for the staff.
However the council will still need to place these kids in specialist education – where are the alternatives ?
Yes I understand the need for the closure – basically the same reasons as the catholic school closure announced last week and of course the need for the council to take out excess places for the schools it runs.
I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that this decision isn’t that of the council. Just like the catholic school where in the article about that the council were getting blamed rather than the church.
As a specialist school its finances are more complex than other schools especially the boarders element where the income seems to come from other local authorities. And now those councils will be trying to sort out what happens to the pupils that are their responsibility.
And along with a drop in the birth rate there is a long term change of parental preference to have their child educated more locally to home.
So a complex set of issues to be addressed.
BTW I’m not as cynical as the poster below that the school is closing because they’ve had an offer for the building.
Also, I’m assuming cochlear implants which they can give to young young children. Being deaf isn’t the disaster it used to be when this school was first opened.
Yes, you make a good point here. A member of my family is deaf and in their mid 50’s. They went deaf when they were 3 due to meningitis. Has this been today, they would have had a copular impact and would have been able to regain some of their hearing and may have been able to attend main stream schools.
Yes Christian, signing a petition is cheap. However, it brings Hamilton Lodge to the forefront. Hopefully, it will capture the attention of sponsors, prospective service users, innovative PR folk, fund raisers and local folk. I very much doubt prior to this petition and article, not that many people knew about Hamilton Lodge.
Anne makes a good point, whilst I have always questioned the effectiveness of petitions, they do seem to open up conversation about the topic at hand – with no small part of our local journalist, of course.
Given the proximity to Brighton College I reckon that the private school wants the building for themselves and made an offer too good to be true.