Dorset County Council (DCC) have decided NOT to allow a consultation on secondary school provision in Swanage, despite being advised by the Community Overview Committee to listen to, and work with, Education Swanage. Instead, they are opting to use Wareham Middle School and the Purbeck School as a single site campus. DCC state that this is because it would be too costly and reduce the money available for other children in Dorset. The Education Swanage report has credible evidence based on other towns and expert advice that building a secondary school in Swanage is a realistic and viable option. Meanwhile, parents in Sandford and Bere Regis ARE being consulted on where they want their children to go to school, with a choice of the Purbeck School, or Lytchett Minster School, both within six miles of these towns. We believe that Swanage, which is ten miles away from the Purbeck School, should be given an opportunity to be consulted about their children's secondary education, but Dorset County Council are acting undemocratically in denying this choice.

We, the undersigned, demand that Dorset County Council overturn their decision to withold a consultation on secondary school provision in Swanage, to allow the people in the town to be given the same opportunities as their Purbeck neighbours. We will not be denied our rights as individuals in a democratic society.