QUEENSWAY Primary School in Yeadon will not close following a public consultation.

The decision is expected to be ratified by Leeds City Council at an executive board meeting tomorrow.

Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds North West said: “I am pleased to be able to report that, following a decision from Leeds City Council, Queensway Primary School will not close.

"Whilst all the underlying issues and challenges remain, the weight of opposition to the closure within the consultation has led to the decision, not just to pause the closure, but to cancel it altogether.

"I would like to commend the parents, teachers, and members of the community for the campaign and for the way they have managed this challenging process. I would like to thank Headteacher Mark Duce and his team for their incredible work and resilience during this time.

"I would also like to make mention of Cllr Eleanor Thompson who has been relentless in her lobbying of the council executive, taking responsibility and making the case for families within the school community.

"This announcement is good news and will be of great relief to many. But we must now engage in the process of trying to find alternative ways to solve the very real issues of reduced number of pupils in the area coming through, and the continued financial pressure on all our schools.”

In a letter to the school and to Alex Sobel MP, Executive member for Education Jonathan Pryor said: “Tomorrow I will be withdrawing the paper on Queensway from Executive Board. This would mean that the Council would not be publishing a proposal to close Queensway Primary School, as previously proposed. While issues around the falling birth rate in the Aireborough area are unchanged, the consultation to address this through a closure of Queensway garnered the highest level of responses we have ever received and were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping Queensway open. As was said throughout, a final decision was never pre-determined, and while a consultation is not a referendum, after reading all contributions to the consultation, it was only right to listen to that strength of feeling.”

Headteacher Mark Duce said: "I am delighted to be able to share the news that today the school has received confirmation from Councillor Jonathan Pryor that the paper with the proposal to close Queensway Primary School will be withdrawn from tomorrow’s Executive Board meeting, meaning that the school will now remain open.
"We are obviously delighted that the correct decision has been taken and are extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone who has supported and backed our campaign.
"I am so proud to be the headteacher of such an incredible school and its community and look forward to now being able to continue planning for the future of Queensway Primary School."

Councillors Paul Wadsworth and Paul Alderson (Guiseley and Rawdon Ward) said they were delighted the Council had u-turned on its closure plans and said it was the right decision for the pupils and families in the area. 

But they said questions remained over why the Council had proposed closure for the school initially, and they urged the Council to work together with other Aireborough schools to address the school places issue across the area.

Councillor Paul Wadsworth (Guiseley and Rawdon Ward) said: “I am delighted that the Council will not be moving ahead with its proposal to close Queensway Primary School. This will be hugely welcome news for the pupils, parents and teachers of the school, and I’m pleased that current pupils will now be able to carry on with their school career uninterrupted.

“It is a shame that plans progressed to this stage before the Council decided to u-turn. Some damage has been done, as a number of pupils have already left the school. I wish that the Council had engaged more with all governing bodies and councillors over the summer to develop a solution for the whole area. But we are where we are, and thanks are certainly owed to all the local campaigners who fought so hard against these proposals. 

“It’s important that the Council now works closely with schools across Aireborough to develop a solution to the school places issue that can command the support of the whole community.”  

Councillor Paul Alderson (Guiseley and Rawdon Ward) said: “This is fantastic news for everyone at the school – the pupils, teachers and families who have worked so hard to oppose the Council’s plans. I want to thank everyone who responded to the consultation in such numbers and with such feeling that it became impossible for the Council to ignore the opposition to these plans.

“It should never have come to this, and questions remain over why the Council decided to propose closure in the first place. But in the end this is the right decision for young people at the school, and we now need to see a solution to the school places problem that works for Aireborough as a whole.”