Darlington - Parents plan protest march

Around 30 people attended a public meeting to plan a protest walk on Monday night.

The walk from the four Catholic primary schools in Darlington, on Wednesday next week at 3.30pm, will see about 200 people march to the town's Catholic secondary school, Carmel College.

Parents at the meeting agreed to lobby local councillors for their support in opposing the transport cuts.

The protestors are campaigning against Darlington Borough Council's proposals to extend the qualifying distance children must live from their nearest or most appropriate secondary school.

Currently, children living two miles or more from school are entitled to free school transport, but the council wants to extend this to three miles and spend the saved cash on books and equipment.

Many parents are concerned about the longer distances their children will have to walk and the safety implications, but parents of pupils at the Catholic schools say they also fear for the future of Carmel College.

One parent, Eileen Clegg, said: "They say it will mean an extra £40 per child per annum to be spent in the classroom, but I would rather give them the £40 and keep the transport from a safety point of view."

Noelle Brockbank, of St Augustine's Primary School Action Group, explained that they fear changing the transport arrangements will make it harder for some children to attend Carmel College.

"We do support all people affected by these proposals, but this walk is a sign of solidarity among the Catholic population of Darlington. We will fight for our children to go to their school."

She added that while some parents originally felt that the cuts were unimportant, because they did not affect their children, many now realise the implications on the future of Catholic education in the town.

"The future of Carmel School is at stake, so it affects all Catholic parents, we don't want to see the school disappear, just because the council wants to make it harder for some children to get there.