Young journalists spoke to pupils at Southway Community College through the summer term which ended in its closure yesterday.
The decision to close was a terrible blow to its pupils. But, as they told reporters from Children's Express, the school's staff and Head have done their best to make such a disruptive change as painless as possible.
| The teachers could have said ‘what’s the point?’, but they’ve been holding their heads high. |
"It was gob-smacking really," said Natalie Marsden, 12. "I chose the school because it looked good - all my friends were going to it and I knew that I was going to end up with a good future - but now it's closing."
The last year has been a rollercoaster for everyone at Southway, which shut for good yesterday. Funding for expansion at Sir John Hunt school, to accommodate many of Southway's old pupils, was turned down, while a £500,000 entrance hall has been opened on the Southway campus. Campaigns to save the schools have come and gone. As the summer term began, pupils were understandably confused.
Tracey Nicholson, 14, said "I think the Year 11s were affected the most because they had GCSEs coming up. Also the Year 7s might have thought they were going to be shoved off to another school although they had only just joined."
Corbin Turner, 15 and about to enter his GCSE year, felt flustered by his future. "My course work is all at sea," he said. "When I go over there I'm not sure if they're going to ask us to redo it or change our syllabus to match theirs. It's all uncertainty and doubt. Our exam grades are going to drop just like that."
They had a long list of other concerns. Katie O'Connor, 14, was worried that Southway pupils would be treated as second best in their new school. Natalie was worried about the new uniform, and adjusting to a new set of rules. Shaun Brady, 14, was worried for the teachers who will lose their jobs. Sarah Lovell, also 14, worried about being split up from her friends. Year 8 students worried about being the only children left on the campus in two year's time. And they all seemed to worry that they might be partly to blame for the closure.
Their Head teacher, Barbara Maddox dismissed that idea straight away. "I don't think that any student ought to feel that it is their fault. Our students are our strengths, and quite magical at times."
She and her team have organised a series of events to help their pupils, such as 'enrichment mornings' with visiting artists, learning to play Japanese drums and making a rock video at a local night club.
Pupils have enjoyed the livelier spirit in the school. Katie said: "We've had a lot more fun events going on, like the other week year 9 went to London to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and that was OK."
Natalie loved Drum Crazy: "It was really enjoyable, because just to think that Southway's going to close, all the bad things we've had, and people still come in and show us as much respect as any other school."
Year 7 pupils have also spent two days at Sir John Hunt to prepare them for their second change of school in two years.
Venetia Morrison, 17, admires her Head's efforts: "Mrs Maddox has been really good about it. She's been going around trying to keep our hopes up. If you see teachers around trying not to be bothered about it, it brings the students up."
"There's been a lot of speculation about why we're closing," she went on. "Because our grades are falling, behaviour's bad, any excuse I suppose. The real reason I think is because somebody doesn't like us."
As Southway's last term ends, pupils have much more to be positive about. But many are still angry.
Natalie said: "We weren't allowed to say how we felt about it. Everyone was worried and upset but we didn't get to say that. We should be able to say something - it's our school."
But Shaun thinks the teachers have made a great difference: "They've been absolutely great to cope with it and us at the same time. They could have said 'what's the point?', but they've been holding their heads high and saying 'carry on and do your best'."
About the team
This article was edited by Hannah Hemsley, 14, with reporters Phillip Cross, 14, Jake Powell and James Watkins, 12. A slightly shorter version was published in the Plymouth Evening Herald.
