I AM writing to express my hopes for the proposed merger of St John's Wingates and Fourgates Primary Schools.

I would like to empathise with the parents of Fourgates children. Any threat to the survival of a school is devastating. No one likes change, but sometimes change has to take place if things are to improve. A new school could be even better for the education of our children, by taking what is best from both schools, it is possible to create an even better one.

This proposed merger should not be made into a war. Wingates and Fourgates parents are neighbours. Our children play together as friends. Prejudices from both sides, have to be put away. This exercise is about what is best for the future education of all our children. A new school would not only benefit some children, it would benefit all. Itt would put back so much into an area that has seen so much taken away.

Ideally everyone would like to see both schools surviving and continuing as they do, providing the pupils with good quality education. But, now no small school is invincible, the future of small schools which require additional funding from the Education Authority cannot be guaranteed.

This is now the time and opportunity (an opportunity which may never present itself again) to look to the future and really consider what is best not only for our children, but for future generations.

A new purpose-built school with all new amenities and facilities can provide all children with so much. More than either school can currently.

Compromises will and can be made. Casting judgments, making assumptions will not lead to a happy union. This is a time for both schools to come and work together. At the end of the day, if we as adults cannot do this, all our children will suffer!

It would be really sad to see this opportunity for our children destroyed!

So let us put the past behind us, as hard as that is for all of us. We will not forget it, but we can learn from it and let us all get together to work to provide for all our children.

Don't let we parents (both Fourgates and Wingates) be remembered as the parents who denied our children the opportunity.

Enid Jones

(Parent, St John's Wingates)

Seddon Street

Wingates

Westhoughton

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.