A Year Ago Today

A lot can happen in a year. If Derbyshire County Council had got their way, our youngest daughter would have been in her last term at the village school, the place would have been running down in front of our eyes, then dismantled and lost for ever. A piece of history and a slice of excellence in a mediocre world would have been thrown to the four winds with barely a backward glance from the perpetrators of the crime.

But we fought the good fight and we won. This is something to celebrate in a society increasingly crushed by senseless rules and petty bureaucracy, by small-minded people with limited vision and an eye to the main chance and self-aggrandissment. Instead of painfully counting the days till the end of the summer term and the end of an era, facing farewells that should never be and tears that needn’t have been cried, I was able to leave my five year old daughter in the playground this morning happily attempting to jump her spindly little legs over a rope in a brave attempt to learn the art of skipping. The air was soft and warm, the birds were singing, the children were laughing and the cress was bursting through the soil of the grow-bags which they had busily and messily planted last Friday afternoon.

Instead of a sense of heartache and loss, we are able to continue with a sense of well-being, growth and optimism for the future: these children are being given the very best of starts in a beautiful, healthy, sane environment.

I can assure you that the seedlings that come out of this particular grow-bag are strong and vigourous and will grow into beautiful mature plants. They have been given the best of starts in life and they will flourish. These young people are our future and if every child could be given the educational start in life that these children receive, then our world would be a much better place.

Coincidentally on the lunchtime news a youth worker and reformed gang member who was commenting on the brutal knife murder of 16 year old Kodjo Yenga in Hammersmith last year said the problems we are facing with this aggressive youth culture is all down to education. He said that he (as a gang member) was a product of this failure in education. If he can see it, why on earth can’t the people in charge? Why does this government (and others before it) continue to mess up our education system, swamping it with mindless health and safety rules, absurd levels of administration which take away from teaching time and, perhaps most significantly, insisting, in the vein of globalisation, that big is beautiful and that one size fits all? When will they learn that ultimately it is more economical to produce well-educated, well-rounded young people from smaller places of learning than to produce ill-educated dysfunctional people from large anonymous institutions where each child is barely no more than a statistic? This is not rocket science. This is just common sense.

Instead of taking money away from village schools, they should be investing in them. They are the heart of a community, they instill community spirit and a sense of belonging and society to the children whom they educate. It is not just about results and league tables. It is about appreciating what it is to be part of a family, it is about developing self-respect and self-confidence, and understanding what can be achieved by team effort and a positive, optimistic approach to life and learning.

The achievement of our small community in fighting the big boys and beating them at their own game is surely proof enough that small can be beautiful too. We pulled together, we worked as a team, we never gave up and we came out smiling. It can be done.

Village Life Is Gravely Threatened

This letter to DCC is from a Combs resident.

I am writing to add my voice to the many that are protesting against the authority's proposal to close our village school. I would like to draw attention to the wider role of the school and village hall as the focus of village life and our small community.

Combs is a rural farming community, the sort of village that keeps Derbyshire's tourist industry alive - yet the authority threatens to destroy the nature of the village that contributes to the wealth of the county as a whole.

In the last five years, Combs has lost its post office. We have not had a shop or newsagent in the village for many years. The library bus does visit once a week, but apart from that, the school and village hall is the only place where people can meet. Closing the school will damage the long term viability of the hall and strike yet another blow at rural life.

I do hope that my representatives on the county council do not knowingly destroy the fabric of life in the village that I enjoy living in so much.

Derbyshire County Council has a responsibility to those of us living in the rural parts of the county as well as those living in the county's towns and cities. I do not underestimate the challenges facing the county council but I think it would be a huge loss to the county as a whole if small communities like Combs become dormitories, with no local focus. Without the school and village hall, the fabric of our village life is gravely threatened.

DCC have had more than 200 letters about the proposed closure.

Abraham Clegg Cup

One of the letters sent to DCC described the role that Combs Fun Day plays in the life of the village each summer, and what a valuable asset the Village Hall is, at the centre of all the activity.

This isn't a money-making venture, it's held to bring all of the village together to enjoy themselves. The day involves a produce and craft show, a pet show, childrens' games, competitions, entertainment followed by a childrens' tea, a fell race, and evening entertainment. That's not to mention a bouncy castle, face painting, tombola, and the Miss Combs competition - which isn't the usual beauty pageant, but an opportunity for the village menfolk to dress in their finery!

We're a relatively new Combs family, having been here five years. It's the only home our daughter has known, and we hope that she will start at Combs School in 2009.

Each year we've entered various Fun Day competitions, and in 2006 we took home the Abraham Clegg Memorial Challenge Cup, narrowly beating the previous 2005 winners, who'd also won in 1999, 2002 and 2003.

The cup is a valuable part of the history of the village. It is 90 years old this year, and in its early years it was awarded to the winner of the Combs Agricultural Society Show. Abraham Clegg founded the Society in 1917.

Combs Fun Day has evolved over the years - I don't think bouncy castles were around in 1917 - and now it's about families and friends getting together to organise and enjoy the day.

What has remained consistent is the community spirit, and the venue - the Village Hall. It would be devastating if this hub of our community was closed, and our family's name was the last to be engraved on the cup.

Please remember that by considering the closure of Combs Infant School you hold the future of this dynamic and amazing community in your hands. I wonder what Abraham Clegg would have to say about that.

Combs Fun Day is on 18 August. See photos from past years at http://combs.fotopic.net/.

Our Rural Lives

Continuing with excerpts from letters sent to DCC, here are a couple that talk about life in Combs.

Our village of Combs is bouyant and thriving. We have many families here; many trace back over decades and the newer residents are here because it is family orientated. We are a mix of economies and not all are wealthy financially, but we are wealthy in spirit because of the village life that exists here. The one thing we all hold dear, regardless of income, is the fact that we have a brilliant school and we all support it. As a village of families, children, parents and grandparents, many other aspects of village life flourish here too.

Please don't destroy that.

For those outside the area who don't know what our rural community looks like, here is a photo of Combs valley, looking south from Eccles Pike. The village of Combs is just beyond the lake, hidden by trees. Click on the photo for a larger view.


Back to the letters.

I feel that it is morally wrong to contemplate this closure. Combs is a lively little village, with an excellent school and a very good community spirit, with thriving clubs and groups using the Hall.

To force the closure of the School and Hall would remove the heart from the community. There are too many dying villages in our country, and this closure will add to that number. It is wrong, morally wrong, to merely look at the bottom line of accounts and say, "We cannot afford it". Excellence today is in short supply, and a closure would add to the deficit.

Therefore I urgently ask you to take into account the feelings of a united community, and allow our village to continue to thrive and prosper as it is doing.

If you haven't already made your feelings known to DCC, find out who to write to.

Peak District Park AuthorityConcerned by Impact on Community

Jim Dixon, the Chief Executive of the Peak District National Park Authority, has written to DCC to express the Authority's concerns over the proposed closure of Combs School, with the knock-on threat to the Village Hall and Chapel.

Mr. Dixon's letter says, "We feel that the muti-use of one building for a school, village hall and community church at Combs is an excellent example of partnership community use and are concerned that the proposed school closure should not threaten the financial viability of the community facility."

You can view the letter here (PDF format).

Combs – A Community with Spirit

DCC has not covered itself in glory while researching Combs Infant School and village. It is suffering from a lot of misconceptions about the nature of Combs Village and Valley and the strong community spirit that thrives here.

In the mid-sixties, Marguerite Bellhouse, long-term resident of Combs, wrote an in-depth book about the village. Only last winter this book was reprinted by popular demand from a whole new generation of Combs residents. This is the nature of Combs. It has an incredibly strong identity and a tremendous sense of place, neither of which should be underestimated or treated so casually by Derbyshire County Council who insist on believing it is a community of relatively wealthy middle class commuters driving 4x4s and enjoying a village school where the children get the equivalent of a private education at the cost of other children in Derbyshire.

The geology and geography of Combs is one of the key things that gives the village this strong sense of place (and if residents have 4x4's it's usually because they need one to work their land or get to their houses in our harsh winters). Combs takes its name from the horseshoe of gritstone hills that embrace it at the south, east and westerly end of the valley. This ‘glacial hollow’ opens out at the northern end until cut off by the hills of Eccles Pike. The first record of a settlement in this valley was in the 13th century but the history stretches back much further – there is an iron age fort (possibly earlier) at Castle Naze and the Romans undoubltedly passed through here as did the Saxons. ‘Cum’ in Saxon means ‘Curved Ground’ and ‘Cumbas’ means valley – likely derivations for the name of the village and placing it firmly in its geographical setting.

The main industry in Combs, until recent times, has been farming, but there has also been a brewery, a mill, weaving, quarrying and smithies. There have been a number of shops in different buildings around the village over the years, sometimes doubling up as a post office. The last one closed over 10 years ago. The last dairy herd was sold three years ago. There is still a milk round. There is still sheep farming and a small beef herd and one of the farmers has diversified into hanging baskets. The Beehive pub thrives, but increasingly with visitors from all around as it offers good dining. If the school, village hall and chapel were to go, the pub would be the only amenity left in the village. There is a small playground in the corner of a field next to the school courtesy of the Village Hall Trust and the funds raised from the Combs Fun Day every August. The publican donated his old outside tables when he bought new ones for the pub so that parents can sit and watch their children play. This playground is full of the sound of happy children’s voices at the end of school, and would undoubtedly be a quieter, sadder place if the school were to shut.

But this is my point. Combs is a relatively rare commodity these days in a world where the countryside has become the town’s toy and many villages have lost control of their own affairs. Despite the squeeze put on small farmers, despite the loss of a shop and post office, the village still has heart. The community pulls together to keep the spirit alive. The school, village hall and chapel exist because of the will and dedication of the residents of Combs. We intend to keep it that way.

Please Don't Ruin My Village

This letter to DCC from a Combs resident sums up the feelings of many people here.

I write with regard to the proposed closure of Combs Primary School. I live in the village of Combs with my wife. I would like to make the following points in opposition to this proposal.

The school is inarguably a standard-bearer for the whole county in terms of quality. It has been implied by the council that the main reason for this is the teacher/pupil ratio, funded by higher costs per pupil than other schools in the area. I would put it to you that this completely ignores the fact that the head teacher, Ms. Curry, and her colleagues, with the complete support and involvement of the local parents, form a formidable educational unit that much more probably explains the tremendous educational successes.

Why the county council would want to destroy such a standard-bearer is beyond us. It makes absolutely no sense to destroy something so successful. Obviously it costs slightly more to provide services in a rural area, but if the council direction is followed to its logical conclusion we may as well all move to Buxton, or even Derby, because it would be cheaper to provide services for us there.

In any event I am not entirely clear, other than the school that you seek to close, exactly what services the county council does provide for the village and its tax payers.

At present the village is a fresh and exciting place to live, with a diverse set of inhabitants including, obviously, families with young children. Much social activity, particularly in the summer months, revolves around the school and village hall, where the keen efforts of the staff and local parents make such events very entertaining for so many people.

Over a period of years the loss of the school will inevitably result in a long-term change for the worse in the life of the village. Other opponents of this proposal have already noted that closure of the school will almost certainly result in closure of the village hall. An important social centre will be lost. The village will become less attractive to families with children, and the present energetic contributions of parents will disappear. It is evident that closure of the school will inevitably result in further losses to the village, in terms of social interaction for all its inhabitants, and not just those directly associated with the school.

I for one very much enjoy living in a village with young people. Your proposed actions will ultimately result in my living in a village with an aging population, just like so many other rural areas in Derbyshire where services have been withdrawn.

Please do not ruin my village.

William’s Story

This is William Ford-Ward’s story, as told by his mum, Jackie.

“My daughter Alice was 7 years old, and in year 2 at Combs School, when my younger son William was diagnosed with Leukaemia. As you can imagine, our lives fell apart. William and I spent weeks in Manchester Children’s Hospital, while he underwent chemotherapy from February to December 2003.

“Our focus was on William. It was an extremely difficult time for Alice, with her mum, dad and brother in and out of hospital. But thanks to the support and understanding of the school, she found it easier to get through.

“Most parents we met at hospital weren’t able to send their children to school while they were receiving treatment: these children had private tuition at home. One of the consultants treating William encouraged us to keep his life as normal as possible, and this included him going to school. We were fortunate: William was able to go into the reception class at Combs School, as apprehensive as we were about some of the problems he would face – infections, loss of hair, and weight gain. He settled immediately and became just one of the children, forgetting about his problems. The teachers helped William to get back on track with his education and the other children restored his confidence and let him know that his treatment wasn’t his whole life.

“Will has missed many days schooling over the past three years, but thanks to the teachers he has never fallen behind in his learning. He is now into the last of his five years of checkups, and everything is going well for him."

William is pictured receiving his Young Achievers Award from Councillor Burrows

“I believe we are fortunate to live in this small community. People know who their neighbours are here, and there is a tremendous community spirit. My husband’s family has farmed here for the past sixty years. He went to Combs School, as did his two sisters.

My two children have had a wonderful education there, and I hope that my third child, expected in October this year, will be attending this same amazing small school in the heart of this wonderful village.”

Let's Kick this Closure into Touch!

Yet another example of the 'added value' that is Combs Infant School, as mentioned in their 'outstanding' OfSTED report - two football coaches from Derby County Football club are at the school this morning teaching the children how to kick!

First off, though, after some initial warming up, the coaches asked the children: "Who is the only person in the football team who's allowed to touch the football?" Hands were enthusiastically stuck up. "Yes, the goalie".

Catching and bouncing skills were duly entered into with the warning, "But don't throw your ball into the wildlife garden!"

If ever there was a multi-faceted learning environment, it is Combs Infants - and much of that goes down to the leadership skills of the Head Teacher.

Indeed, this is the first day that the school is without Avis Curry until her return in September. She is boarding a plane today to take her to Rwanda to carry out her mentoring role to teachers over there for three months. The school is left in the more than capable hands of Mrs Irwin, Mrs Jackson, Mrs Whittaker, Mrs Smith and student assistant Charlotte.

As the new pupils, due to start in Reception in September, today begin their Friday initiation sessions into the vibrant life of this remarkable little school - is this not the time to shout 'LET'S KICK THIS CLOSURE INTO TOUCH!'?

We want the school to be there for many more children in the years to come, to enjoy and benefit in their future lives from the marvellous start they get at this resoundingly HAPPY village school - just as many generations have done before them.

It's not just the school that has heart, it's the heart of the village. Let's keep it that way.

Combs Community Group

The following is an edited version of a letter sent to DCC on behalf of Combs Community Group.

I am writing on behalf of members of the ‘Combs Community Group’ as we are extremely anxious to partake in a full and meaningful way in the DCC consultation, following our members attendance at the public meeting held in Combs on 22nd of May.

We use the Village Hall on a monthly basis, providing a programme of lectures, talks, demonstrations, organised visits, and social events for our membership. Our group also acts as a sounding board, identifying problems and issues affecting Combs village, individuals, groups and our environment. We provide a social platform for new villagers to find companionship or support and act as a local information signpost point.

Our survival depends on a constantly refreshed programme, speakers and events, and given the rising cost of speakers, our ability to develop and offer such a programme has only been possible through dedicated members and the close partnership with the Combs Village Hall Trust, with its strategy of supporting small village groups by supplying affordable facilities.

Our membership predominantly resides within the Combs Valley and Cockyard, and the Hall is the natural centre for our activities, as there is no other such socially inclusive group or equivalent facilities existing within the area.

Given this background, and the integrated nature of the operation of the ‘Combs Community Facilities’, we consider there would be damaging effects from the proposed closure on the rural community.

We respectfully request that the closure proposal be dropped, as we (in Combs and High Peak) would lose a school which is a proven model of educational excellence, and potentially also lose a well used and greatly appreciated community facility.

Combs Sewing Group

These are excerpts from a letter sent to DCC on behalf of Combs Sewing Group.

We use the Village Hall on a weekly basis to learn and develop skills and techniques in sewing, fashion and design, employing them in group and individual projects. Our members reside within the Valley, and the Hall is the natural centre for these activities, no other such group or facilities exist within a reasonable proximity.

The Village Hall, School and Chapel joint facilities are the only community facilities available to the population within the Combs. The closure of Combs School would immediately diminish the social role of the village and conspire with other contemporary factors that tend to turn the village into mere dormitories lacking social richness and the rewarding mixture of social/age groups.

The individuals and groups using the community facilities provided by the Village Hall Trust offer a range of social, recreational and adult learning activities. These groups also provide a real and reactive range of information and support networks for villagers in times of need and crisis.

Therefore, the loss of the community facility in Combs will have major detrimental impacts on the quality of life and support for Combs residents.

We are deeply concerned by the steps you are considering, given our community's tremendous efforts to ensure that the valley has a broad based community resource, and the improvement it has made in the ‘quality of life’ afforded to our community.

Photos Needed

We'd like to show the wide range of activities that the Village Hall is used for.

Unsurprisingly, because the Hall is just part of our lives, people may not have taken photos of all the things that happen there.

Things like...

• Brownies


• Sewing Circle


• Community Meetings


• Polling Station


• Children's Parties


• After-School Clubs


• Charity Fund-Raising Events


• Village Fun Day - including Sports Day next to the School


• Church Services - Weddings, Baptisms

Do you have any photos we could post on this campaign blog?

You can either e-mail them to the webmaster, or drop prints off at Little Corner (near the Beehive) so that they can be scanned and returned to you.

Not the First Time

Mike Evanson (Chairman of the Trustees of the Village Hall Trust) recalls past community support for the School and Village Hall.

"The story begins in 1865, when the residents of Combs funded the building of a chapel and gave it to the Wesleyan Church. In 1992, structural defects were spotted that meant the 70 or so years of use as a school would be brought to a sudden end.

"But the community of Combs rose to the challenge, and the £44,000 that was raised enabled the school to continue, albeit with no extra space being provided for community activities.

"The next challenge came in 1996, when an Improvement Notice was served, requiring changes to the toilet facilities. The Trust put in a short term solution by renting portaloo toilets and then set out to find the means to enhance the village amenities. In 1997, a project team in the village had fought for and won grant funding of £53,000. This was matched by funds - either in kind or cash - raised by the community, and the £106,000 project to build the village Hall began.

"The result was what you see today - a multi use facility comprising a school with two classrooms, a Village Hall and a community Church, which is used by all ages for a wide variety of community activities.

Mike concluded, "We believe that the responses to the past challenges within Combs demonstrate beyond doubt the wholehearted and energetic community support. However, given the nature of the partnership model - between Methodists, Village Hall Trust, and the School - our view is that the proposed closure of Combs School would have a significant detrimental effect on the ability of the community facilities to survive."

Plan of the building at time of 1997 extension.

Village Schools - Superb or Superfluous?

This blog was first posted 9th May 2007

I despair sometimes, I really do. Does excellence stand for nothing in this country? Is it really all about ‘the bottom line’? I have just received devastating news - for our little community at least. Our village infant school has been earmarked for closure.

This school is one of the key reasons I was prepared to unpick my life once again and move from the south to the north of the country. It is one of my strongest and most positive memories from when we first came to look at the house and the village. In the Autumn it was awarded the highest possible Ofsted inspection result and, as such, was put into the top 10 per cent of primary schools in the WHOLE country. This is a remarkable achievement for a school of 25 pupils. And it is all down to the dedication, vision and plain hard work of its Head and equally dedicated staff – one teacher, one assistant, one secretary – not to mention the strong parental input and board of governors. It featured in an article in the Primary Review just a month or two back about the quality and value to the community of our village schools. Its pupils leave in Year 2 with the abilities of most Year 4s. Thanks to the drive of the Head Teacher and her understanding that to remain open she has to achieve excellence and go for every financial subsidiary being offered, the school offers an incredible range, for such a small school, of ‘add-on activities’ and extra-curricular activities – swimming, ball skills, basketball, gym club, ICT both within the school and at the local secondary school, French club, card club…indeed, when we first visited the school it had more interactive white boards and computers than the private school our eldest daughter had been forced to attend in London (such was the impossibility of getting her into a decent state school in the over-crowded area of the city that we lived in). It was impressive. Put that together with a magnificent setting – clean air, startling views, quiet lane, sheep and cows and a very full programme of school trips and nature activities - and moving up here, rather than my husband weekly commuting, was an obvious decision. And you know what? – it really made me HAPPY that my children could be educated by the State, as they should be able to be, to a very high standard, in an inspiring environment.

But it seems that all that counts for nothing. Irrelevant the fact that they continue to build new housing without increasing the schools and doctors and dentists so that many of the local schools (again, in just the four years since we’ve been here) now have classes of 30 or more. Irrelevant that the village school brings a heartbeat to the community, already stripped of much of its youth by lack of job prospects and the ever-widening horizons of the modern world. The farming community has virtually been squeezed out of existence, it is now the turn of the young things who, with the tools provided by the excellence of their early education, setting them up for life, are to suffer. Instead of being able to walk to school, we will now have to drive to another, far bigger one, to sit at the back of a huge class and lose all that careful nurturing and attention that creates confident, capable young children, allowing them to make the very best of the next stages in their education. Am I being too idealistic? Or is the local government just being too short-sighted? When money is the issue – they claim the cost of educating each of our children is just too high – it is a hard battle to win. But in the end, you get what you pay for don’t you? Pay peanuts, get monkeys. Is that really what this country needs? Wouldn’t it be nice, just for once, to celebrate success, to celebrate excellence and turn a blind eye to the bottom line? When I think how much taxpayers’ money has been thrown away over the years – don’t get me on Iraq, don’t get me on the Greenwich Dome or the London Olympics. All very different areas of expenditure, to be sure, but I can’t help feeling the domestic coffers could be better prioritised.

I am not a political person. I am simply a person who has paid a lot of money to the government over the years and has, frankly, taken very little back out. I am someone who believes in investing in people, in giving everyone the best start possible in life. I just think it is time someone sat up and took a look at the balance and quality of the education in this country and the importance of the village school in maintaining the heart and spirit of the rural communities. Everything is so weighted towards urban environments that in trying to improve the inner city situation while centralising rural education, leading to the sort of overcrowding that is reminiscent of the urban scenario, there is a real danger of chucking the baby out with the bathwater.