§ 13. Mr. Kenneth Bakerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations she has received in respect of the Inner London Education Authority's proposal to amalgamate the St. Marylebone Grammar School with the Rutherford Secondary Modern School.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeMy right hon. Friend has received letters from parents of boys attending St. Marylebone School, organisations connected with the school, and local residents.
§ Mr. BakerWill my hon. Friend bear in mind that, if this scheme is approved, it will result in a comprehensive school on three separate sites in old and inadequate buildings, and if the merger is forced through without the provision of new buildings it will have the effect of sacrificing the educational interests of the children of my constituents to the doctrinal prejudices of the I.L.E.A.?
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeI am sure that those are all matters which will be carefully considered by my right hon. Friend, 1829 under whose guidance Section 13 procedures are no mere formality. But my hon. Friend will not expect me to make a pronouncement before the statutory period has elapsed after the notice, which was published on 18th June.
§ Mr. LiptonWhy is the Department taking so long to come to a conclusion about the carefully considered plans of the Inner London Education Authority? The delay is having a most unsettling effect on pupils, teachers and the whole of the educational structure in London.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeI do not think that the hon. Gentleman have heard me when I said that the I.L.E.A. itself and the governors—for the governors come into this, too—published their statutory notice on 18th June. The two-month period starts to run from that date.