Scores of Isle of Wight parents and children gathered in protest outside Brading Primary School this morning (Thursday) – after learning the institution is at risk of closure.

Earlier this week, the Isle of Wight Council revealed six Island schools are at risk of closure as it looks to tackle the issue of surplus pupil numbers.

Parents are now taking to the streets, placards in hand, to have their voices heard on the subject.

Among those to speak to the County Press ahead of a protest in Brading was Nick Binfield, whose two children are schooled at Brading Primary.

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He said: “My children receive the most fantastic education in Brading, but it's more than my family – it’s about the whole community here.

“The town is having the heart ripped out of it again. We’ve lost doctors, lost chemists, lost post offices, lost cricket clubs over the years, and we cannot afford to lose our school.

(Image: County Press)

“It’s another thing just going, and this community cannot afford to send their children to other schools, in other towns, on buses that could cost £16 to £20 a day.

“Okay, the council might want to lay on free school transport, but Brading sits within two miles of its nearest school, and the policy says they will not provide free transport for that distance.

“It’s either Sandown or St Helens, and if you send your children to St Helens, it’s the bus in and out of Sandown.

"The whole council document is wrong.

“The whole process to get here is wrong, grouping Brading in with Sandown schools, when Brading is grouped always, electorally and ecclesiastically, with St Helens and that area of the Island.  

(Image: County Press)

“Why, unless there is an agenda to close it right from the get-go, is Brading being grouped with those other schools?

“The council has used raw attainment measures as its metric and rational when Brading has one of the highest SEN rates on the Island.

“You cannot compare schools on raw data alone, the document is clearly lacking.”

Among those to speak to the County Press during the protest was Lizzee Annis, who lives in Sandown and chose to have her youngest child schooled in Brading.

She said: “We chose Brading Primary because of the small community feel.

(Image: County Press)

“Everyone is accepted here, and where it’s a very deprived area, everyone comes together more to support each other.

“It will be so sad to see it go, and the impact it will have on families in Brading is massive.

“My youngest’s education has already been disrupted by Covid, and now they want to close the school.

“We’re not happy. It was a shock, it’s really upsetting, and it’s caused a lot of anxiety for all the parents.

“The teaching staff here are absolutely amazing. They help bring on the children so well and they accept every child.

“It’s heartbreaking. We cannot afford to lose the school, Brading will be a ghost town.”