MORE than 100 parents met to hear plans for their children’s education.
Fartown Parents Action Group organised an event to support a bid to run their children’s school.
More than 100 parents attended the meeting at Birkby Community Centre to discuss the future of Fartown High School.
Kirklees wants to set up a new co-education school on the site to serve 1,200 pupils from Birkby, Bradley, Deighton, Fartown, Fixby, Hillhouse and Sheepridge.
Four organisations are bidding for the right to run the new school – Wakefield Diocese of the Church of England; Holmfirth High, London-based E-ACT and Lilac Sky Schools from Essex.
The action group is backing the bid by Holmfirth High, whose head teacher Andrew Williams has overseen an improvement in standards since taking over at Fartown a year ago.
Fartown Parents Action Group chairman Azher Latif said: “There has been a drastic change in results with the new management team.”
Mr Latif added that the three other bids would turn the school into an academy.
“We believe we need a community school. We think academies close doors,” he said.
“If anyone else comes in to run the school, the parent involvement will not be there.”
Huddersfield Pakistani Community Alliance is also backing the Holmfirth bid.
The council’s Cabinet will make a decision on February 15.
