Lib Dem flip flop'son education.

Obviously my ward is heavily affected by the decisions made by Cllr Ann Milton and her Learning Futures Programme for secondary education in Southampton.

What has been to everyone’s amazement is the gross incompetence of the Administration in the handling of this.

It was announced that Grove Park was to be closed even though this was not in the original consultation with parents. (A tip to those behind Learning Futures – no one objected to Grove Park’s closure during the consultation as it was not in the original proposals!)

Woolston parents where then led to believe that their school was to be kept open on the current site.

Finally Cllr Milton performed a U Turn, saying Woolston school was to close and was to merge with Grove Park.

How can parents, teachers and pupils be expected to learn and plan for the future when the Administration flip flops around like this?

There is a similar mess with Millbrook and Oaklands.

The whole thing has been handled badly from the very beginning. The Liberals need to draw a line in the sand and say that they will start the whole process again fairly.

This picking off certain schools will only increase the number of children who leave the city to be educated in Hampshire and force teachers to look outside the city for stable employment.