MP Dr. Andrew Murrison has invited the Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening to visit Matravers School, as the pressure for a complete rebuild increases.
After a visit to Matravers School last month, Dr. Murrison commented on the ‘dreadful fabric’ of the school and called for a ‘complete rebuild.’ Since then, he has written to the Education Secretary, Justine Greening, inviting her to Westbury to see first-hand the state of the school’s buildings, which Dr. Murrison says are, ‘deeply demoralising for students and staff.’
Speaking to the White Horse News, he said, “I have written to the Minister for Education about this issue and invited her to come and see for herself the state of Matravers School.
“I believe schools outside the metropolitan area have been neglected and funding needs to be more equally distrubuted. Matravers is a good example of a non-inner city school which is in sore need of development.”
Ex councillor calls for a move to Leighton House
Suggestions that the school could move to the land at Leighton House, which was put up for sale earlier this year, have been put forward by former Wiltshire and Town Councillor Bill Braid.
“It seems to me to be little point in building on the current school plot and the land at Leighton House would be a perfect opportunity,” said Bill.
The land is currently owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) but it was announced in April that it would be sold for housing development.
Bill continued, “If it was handled the right way, this could work perfectly both for the school and a housing developer. The developer would get the land where Matravers currently is, plus part of the land at Leighton House. If Wiltshire Council were also in agreement, the school could use the sports facilities at Leighton Recreational Centre as it’s hardly used during the day.”
Horace Prickett, who taught at Matravers School for almost 30 years believes it would be a win/win situation for both the school and the developers. “If it could be worked out properly it would be the perfect opportunity,” he said. “The school definitely needs resiting. Access is awful and the problems are only going to increase.”
When asked about the school moving to Leighton House, Dr. Murrison said, “I have no strong views on where the school should go or if one particular site is best, but I do believe Bill Braid’s suggestion should be seriously considered because what is very clear is that Matravers needs substantial development.
“There are legitimate concerns surrounding the amount of building work in the town but the lack of facilties to match. Having spoken to the school governors and Dr Riding [headteacher], what is clear is that there shouldn’t be any tinkering around the edges and any short-term fixes would be a complete waste of money.”
