Pupils from Milford Haven School gathered outside county hall today (Thursday, October 10) to demand councillors stop the closure of their sixth form.

Three pupils handed a letter to the councillors, asking them to not to go ahead with the closure after governors at the school asked for a consultation to be carried out.

In the letter, Stevie Joseph, 14, outlined reasons why she thinks the sixth form should stay open (full letter printed below).

Western Telegraph:

“I will be 16. I don’t want to be in a college environment yet,” said the year 10 pupil in the letter.

“I understand the provision of a college for learners who don’t like or thrive in a formal educational setting but don’t make us all conform to that.

“Many of us thrive in the traditional school setting and should be allowed the opportunity to continue our education, not be uprooted at a key stage in our learning. There should be a choice.”

Western Telegraph:

She added: “We need stability and continuity. It’s not just about the travelling distance although this is a significant factor but Haverfordwest and Pembroke are very different places from Milford Haven.

“I have 5 years of relationships with the teachers at Milford Haven School, they know me, have invested in me and provide significant pastoral care.

“Doing your GCSE’s and A-Levels is already stressful.”

Stevie’s letter raises several questions for councillors, including if the school’s results have been compared against the college average; and why the drop in pupils was not addressed earlier.

Many councillors stopped to chat with the pupils on their way into county hall, with some offering their backing.

Councillor David Lloyd, who held the cabinet role for Education and lifelong learning until May this year, said: “You have my complete support”.

Milford Haven town councillor Naomi Joseph, Stevie’s mum, said the group had a positive response from Cllr Guy Woodham, the current cabinet minister for education and lifelong learning.

 

Stevie Joseph's full letter to the councillors:

Dear Councillor,

My name is Stevie, I’m 14 and currently studying for my G.C.S.E’s at Milford Haven School. My global grade (predicted average result) is an A* and I want to stay on at school to do my A-levels then go on to one of the Russell Group Universities or if possible, do my undergraduate degree in one of America’s Ivy League Universities and my Postgrad in the UK.

I’m absolutely gutted that the Governing Body have asked for consultation on closing our Sixth Form.

ASPIRE is our school moto! If the Sixth Form is closed, what do we aspire to? I will have been kicked out of school at the age of 16.

Pembrokeshire College is not the same product.

I will be 16! I don’t want to be in a college environment yet. I understand the provision of a college for learners who don’t like or thrive in a formal educational setting but don’t make us all conform to that. Many of us thrive in the traditional school setting and should be allowed the opportunity to continue our education not be uprooted at a key stage in our learning. There should be a choice.

This year Natalie Thomas, a Milford Haven School student went to Oxford, she was one of only three in the County. Have Milford Haven School results been compared against the College average? What percentage of pupils who enter the College to do A-levels actually sit the exams? I have heard of A-level students at the College being withdrawn from sitting their exams because they weren’t expected to get good grades and would bring the overall results down.

Being uprooted to go to a different school in a different town is also unfair.

We need stability and continuity. It’s not just about the travelling distance although this is a significant factor but Haverfordwest and Pembroke are very different places from Milford Haven. I have 5 years of relationships with the teachers at Milford Haven School, they know me, have invested in me and provide significant Pastoral Care. Doing your G.C.S.E’s and A-Levels is already stressful.

I live in Milford, I walk to school, all my friends are here, when I get to the Sixth Form I will be in the same school as my younger brother for the first time, all my primary education was in Milford, I represent Milford in sporting teams.

The Council talk about ‘Health and Wellbeing’, closing Milford Sixth Form will negatively impact of the emotional wellbeing of many pupils in Years 10 and 11 now but also for years to come.

I am so looking forward to getting to the Sixth Form, not just to start my A-levels but I want to be a Senior Prefect with those responsibilities. My Grandpa was Head Boy at Milford Grammar, my Mum was Head Girl at S.T.P, I won’t have that chance now. I want to have the opportunity to organise the charity events that we’ve supported for years, play Senior Hockey and work with the Seren Network who support Year 12 pupils in state schools by linking high achievers to leading Universities. These things make me a rounded person, education is about so much more than grades and a decision to close Milford Sixth Form will be an exceptionally narrow minded one.

I want to directly appeal to Cllr Woodham as the Cabinet Member for Education. If the current numbers of pupils entering Sixth Form aren’t enough, then:

1) Support and work with the school to increase numbers, this takes time to change.

I understand our Headteacher worked at this last year but if numbers have been declining since 2010, why hasn’t this been addressed earlier? Milford Haven Community Primary School is now a huge primary school and housing developments are being built all over Milford Haven, numbers will be increasing if we look ahead or does the Education Department have an agenda to close every Sixth Form in Pembrokeshire? Assurances were given only a few years ago that Milford Sixth Form would not be closed.

2) Invest in the school building. It is totally unequitable to compare numbers of pupils wanting to attend a shiny new campus at the College to the tired facilities at Milford Haven School.

Include a quality Sixth Form provision in the refurbishment of Milford Haven School and make it more attractive.

I would also like to appeal directly to Cllr Miller as a Cabinet Member and Leader of the Labour Group. I understand that the Labour administration in the National Assembly control Sixth Form education funding. What are the numbers decision makers consider will make the Sixth Form viable?

If the current numbers of pupils entering Sixth Form aren’t enough, then:

3) Change the minimum requirements, they’re only arbitrary or let us have a slimline, more specialised Sixth Form offering the most popular subjects and remain as students of Milford Haven School.

I have read about the investment the Cabinet has made and wants to make more of in Haverfordwest – Haverfordwest High, Ysgol Caer Elen, The Riverside Cultural Centre, Ocky White purchase, youth facilities. Am I to believe my A-level education is less of a priority for you?

Milford Haven is a close community and the school is a huge part of that because of the Sixth Form. They’re our role models. When you’re in Milford Haven Community Primary School, you aspire to be in the Comp, when you get to the Comp, you look up to the Sixth Form and then beyond.

It is drilled into us that ASPIRE stands for: Ambition, Self-belief, Persistence, Independence, Responsibility

This week, we came up with a few more to reflect our mood:

A Sad Prospect Intentionally Ruining our Education

Aspiring Student’s Potential Ignored & Removed for Ever

Aspiring Sixth former’s Purged In 21st century schools Reform by Establishment

I strongly belief that where there is a will, there is a way. My understanding is that the Governing Body have been forced into a corner as they fervently disagreed with this action prior to a meeting with local authority representatives, so this isn’t what they what. There is the will in Milford Haven but we need your help to find the way.

Please consider the opportunity you had to stay on at your school Sixth Form, the opportunity your children had and don’t deny me and my friends the same opportunity.

Yours sincerely,

Stevie Joseph