Page 210 - It's a Rum Life Book 3 "Ivy House Tales 1970 to 1984"

The Lincolnshire County Education Department had a bee in their bonnet largely driven by
their then County Councillor responsible for Education.

The man holding the position of Chairman of the Education Committee was politically
Conservative and the member from the southernmost edge of Lincolnshire.

His notoriety in 1984 was for being very difficult and he had a reputation for getting what
he most desired!
Later in his “career” as a County Councillor, this was to come to light as blatant corruption
accompanied by undisguised bullying of all around him. He is serving a gaol sentence for
his real “sins” as I write this story.

The “Chairman” of the County Education Committee had a mouthpiece in the form of a
sub-committee, in fact it was a “task force” created to “arrange” School closures. Once
finished with Primary Schools, they began on the secondary education system. Their
objective was to be cost savings for the County Budget.
Good education and its simple aims and objectives were a long way from their thoughts.

Over the early months of 1984, Lincolnshire folk watched the antics of this sub committee
with amazement. Real closures of some larger secondary schools began to happen and
then they arrived in Stickney.
Their argument was that in the town of Spilsby only 8 miles or so to the north were a
Grammar School and a further Secondary Modern School. An additional Secondary
Modern School lay some ten miles eastward in the direction of the coast.

After a series of meetings of governors and teachers of the Spilsby Schools and William
Lovell, the “task force” decided to close William Lovell and disperse the children to all the
various surrounding schools nearest to their homes.

In this decision, we saw the real reason for the County Education Committee’s “attack” on
the William Lovell School. Its growing success was a “thorn in their side”. If it continued to
be successful, they would have to spend more money on the site to enlarge its facilities.
Parental choice was winning the day, so they were determined to destroy that
parental choice by simply closing William Lovell and reducing the choice!

COMMON SENSE
William Lovell School was located in the countryside, 12 miles or so from the nearest large
centre of population. To “planners” this did not make sense. The fact that the rural location
was of great assistance to the outlook and atmosphere of the school, they could not and
still do not understand.

210