It Takes Time To Achieve Excellence

There follows an excerpt from a letter to DCC from a Combs couple who have resided in the village since 1964. The wife of the couple was a pupil at Combs School in the 1940s, and the husband was a Trustee and Treasurer of the Combs Village Hall Trust for a quarter of a century.

We have read with great dismay details of the proposal to close Combs School, and attended the meeting in the village with Councillor Charles on 22nd May. We understand the position of DCC, but cannot accept that the arguments put forward outweigh the fundamental points put by the representatives of the various parties from the school and the village.

The present government has put great emphasis on improving education standards over the last ten years, setting targets throughout the country. In Combs School, over almost twenty years, two Head Teachers and one Acting Head Teacher have raised its level to be in the top 10% in the country. What message does it send to teachers across the County to have such a school summarily closed? It is madness to close such a centre of excellence apparently to help meet a political target to fill places at Chapel Junior School. It may take a further twenty years to build the momentum to attain such excellence again.