Hundreds march through Huddersfield Town Hall against Kirklees Council schools plan

Jun 25 2009 By Barry Gibson

Hundreds march through Huddersfield Town Hall against Kirklees Council schools plan

HUNDREDS of parents and children marched through Huddersfield Town Hall last night to protest against school plans.

There were angry scenes as some demonstrators tried to force their way into the council chamber during Kirklees Council’s monthly meeting.

The campaigners are unhappy at the council’s £200m high school plan for north Kirklees.

Most of the protesters came from Castle Hall School in Mirfield – which is threatened with closure – and from Birkenshaw, which is due to lose its middle school without getting a new high school.

Hundreds of children, parents and teachers gathered outside the town hall for a noisy protest before the monthly meeting began at 4pm.

Forty-five minutes into the meeting, Birkenshaw man Andrew Gray forced his way into the council chamber leading a line of small children. The father-of-two demanded to be allowed to march past the 69 councillors in the room in a silent protest.

Mr Gray was blocked by a town hall security guard before Kirklees chief executive Rob Vincent went over to negotiate. After a five-minute delay, Mr Gray was allowed to lead a procession through the chamber.

The hundreds of protesters took 10 minutes to march through the hall, with opposition Conservative councillors applauding them.

Speaking to the Examiner after walking through the council chamber, Mr Gray said: “We’re trying to highlight the need for a high school in Birkenshaw to preserve education in the village and our way of life. We haven’t been listened to yet.”