00:00We stand for the children who walked through these gates this morning unsure of what their
00:05future looks like. We stand for the teachers who have poured their hearts into the school
00:10and were given no warning.
00:13Hundreds of angry parents and students marched at St Lawrence College in Ramsgate, all to
00:17protest the closure of the private school. This comes after the school's leaders said
00:22it would be moving to Dover College in September, which is more than 50 minutes away. The school
00:27said that without the merger, financial pressures meant they would have to close imminently,
00:30but the parents said it was the lack of transparency that was most difficult to bear.
00:35The parents say it wasn't a discussion, they were simply informed of the change. It may
00:40only be 16 miles, it may only be 45 minutes, but to these children it's classrooms, it's
00:44friendships, it's teachers, it's bonds, it's mentors and it's sports clubs. There are some
00:49children who are on sports scholarships that simply aren't put on at Dover College. There
00:55you can tell there is an air of unease and anxiety among the hundreds who have gathered
00:59to peacefully protest. Those hundreds, you may be asking, where are they? They're in
01:03the school grounds. Now we can't go in there ourselves, but we've been catching up with
01:07some of these parents to hear about their views.
01:10It's due to go into reception, so it's already at nursery here, but due to go into reception
01:14in September. And we have had all of our moving up meetings and our official offer letter.
01:20And then on Tuesday morning we found out, out of the blue, that obviously the school is
01:25going to be merging with another school in Dover. Of course for us it's just not appropriate
01:29to think about taking a child of reception age to Dover every single day.
01:35But it wasn't just parents who were worried.
01:38It's rubbish. I wanted to stay. It's only a 13th.
01:43I didn't even know what happened. It's a very big surprise to me. I asked them, I've got
01:50a lot of questions in my head like, why, what, is it, what's going to change in the school
01:56and stuff like that. But I don't know what's going to happen and yeah.
02:00It's going to really affect the Ramsgate local economy and all the subsidiary firms that
02:05supply the college etc. And plus the fact a lot of the staff actually live on site. So
02:11they would be forced out of accommodation. It's just unbelievable really. It's been here
02:16140 odd years.
02:18A spokesperson for Repton Family of Schools said there is considerable upheaval in the
02:22independent school sector at the moment with regular announcements of closures and mergers.
02:27Without immediate action, St. Lawrence would regrettably have been forced to close imminently
02:31as a result of increasing costs, lower income and a historically high level of debt.
02:36This merger and the support of the Repton Family of Schools will protect the college's
02:40legacy, identity and ethos and will ensure pupils can continue their education without
02:44the disruption that would have come from a sudden closure.
02:47For now, parents and students are using a GoFundMe to raise money for legal services but
02:51the school remains steadfast in their decision while questions continue to be raised about what
02:56can be done for the future, not just of the school but of its pupils as well.
03:00Finn McDermid for KMTV in Ramsgate.
03:03Same virgin in Ramsgate
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