East Staffordshire MP Andrew Griffiths has thrown his weight behind a campaign to save a village school from closure.

Mr Griffiths spent an afternoon meeting staff and pupils at Henry Prince First School in Mayfield, which is currently threatened with closure because the low number of pupils on its roll makes funding it unsustainable.

The Main Road school has just received a glowing Ofsted report but Staffordshire County Council says approximately half the parents of eligible children in the Mayfield area are choosing to send those children elsewhere, which has led governors to consult on the future of the school.

Just 40 pupils currently attend the school but, armed with its fresh endorsement from Ofsted and its support from the village and now its MP, plans are well under way to boost the numbers.

A group of villagers from Mayfield are due to hold a protest at the next meeting of Staffordshire County Council's cabinet on Wednesday, November 15, in support of the school being given additional funding on a "special case" basis, while pupil numbers are built back up.

Mr Griffiths, who visited the school on Thursday and was shown round by chair of governors Chris Kinman, said he was impressed by the campaign so far.

Andrew Griffiths MP talks to pupils at Henry Prince First School
Andrew Griffiths MP talks to pupils at Henry Prince First School

He said: "I think the really positive thing about this sad news is the way the PTA and the village has rallied round to support the school.

"There's that old saying, you never know how much you miss something until it's gone and I think the village has realised what they might be losing in terms of this school as an asset.

"So I pay great tribute to the governors and the PTA for getting off their backsides and knocking on doors and talking to people in the village to try and encourage more people to try and send their kids to this school.

"It's a good school, it provides great education and a lovely environment for kids to grow up in. The initial response seems to be very positive.

"Faced with the consequences of losing the school it appears there are parents who are willing to send their children here, which could give a lifeline to maintaining the school and making it financially viable."

A meeting was held at the school last week to discuss the problems the school was facing and more than 60 people attended, including representatives from Staffordshire County Council.

Mark Sutton, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for Children and Young People, and Philip White, County Council’s Cabinet support member for Learning and Employability, both spoke at the public meeting.

Mr Griffiths says the school now needs to look at all the opportunities it has to overcome the situation and he pledged to carry on supporting the parents and governors.

He said: "I think first of all we've got to demonstrate there is support for the school and that's already happening, but we've then got to push back and ask challenging questions and be as forceful as we can to try and find a solution.

"And if, at the end of it all, that solution isn't forthcoming, we've got to reassure ourselves that we've tried every single thing to keep this historic school open.

"At the end of the day this is part of the village's history and we want it to be part of the future.

"So I'm here to work with the head and to work with the governing body to make sure we've explored every avenue and pushed as hard as we can. And I pray that if we do that we'll find a solution."

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