Croxteth Comprehensive School (Hansard, 22 February 1983)

§ 9. Mr. Parry
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the present situation in Liverpool's Croxteth comprehensive school.

§ Dr. Boyson
Croxteth county comprehensive school ceased to exist with effect from September 1982, and ray right hon. Friend has urged the local education authority to bring to an end the unlawful occupation of the premises of the former Croxteth school.

§ Mr. Parry
Is the Minister aware that the occupation by the parents and the action committee, who have been providing classes and meals throughout the winter, has captured the imagination of the people of Liverpool? Is he further aware that they have recently been served with a summons for a rates bill of £27,000?
In view of the Government's belief that parents should provide schools for their children, does the Minister agree that that is exactly what the parents at the Croxteth comprehensive school are doing? Will the Secretary of State visit Croxteth to see at first hand what is taking place so that he can inform his advisers?

§ Dr. Boyson
It should be made clear that the school was closed, not by my Department, but by the Liverpool education authority with the agreement of my Department. It did so because the school was under-subscribed, with only between 50 and 60 per cent. of the places being filled. Only one pupil from outside the catchment area attended Croxteth school in its last year, while one third of the children inside its catchment area opted out. Therefore, there was nothing to show at that stage that there was any massive support for the school, but we have noticed what has happened since.

§ Mr. Christopher Price
How can the Minister persuade us or anybody else that he is in favour of parental choice if he uses his powers to prevent parents wishing to keep a school open from doing so? Would Croxteth qualify for a voucher system, if such existed?

§ Dr. Boyson
The answer to the hon. Gentleman's second point is yes, so he can join the ranks of those who support the voucher system. If only three parents wish their children to attend a certain school, do we keep it open when it should provide 1,500 or 2,000 places? There must be a limit.

§ Mr. Christopher Price
They could use the vouchers.

§ Dr. Boyson
Yes, parents could pay the teachers with vouchers. I have already explained that parents opted out of the catchment area for the Croxteth school in favour of the Ellergreen school. They believed that Ellergreen school was more satisfactory because of the facilities that it could provide.

§ Mr. Kinnock
Does the Minister realise that he makes himself look even more incredible than usual by advertising the idea that the Tory party is in favour of choice, while imposing enormous qualifications and restrictions? Have not the parents at Croxteth effectively demonstrated their preference for that school by making enormous sacrifices to provide their children with education at that school?

§ Dr. Boyson
The Opposition's lackaday belief in parental choice is suspicious. If Croxteth school had been full, and if parents had been queueing for places for their children, the local authority would not have issued a section 12 notice to close the school. The school was not full. It was running down. People did not wish to move within the area; they wished to move out. The local authority suggested the closure and my Department agreed. Another factor is that there is a limit on the number of full courses that a small secondary school can provide. There were only 24 pupils in the sixth form, and three sixth form classes had only one pupil each. Even with their alchemist sense of finance, the Opposition must find that excessive.