Islamic School For West Swindon ?

On the 18th of June 2010 education Secretary Michael Gove announced that planning laws would be ‘torn up’ so hundreds of parents can set up their own schools in shops and houses……

In February 2009 the Al Habib Islamic Centre’s bid to run Oakhurst Primary School was rejected by the Schools adjudicator which said there was more support for a community school in Oakhurst than an Islamic one.   Oakhurst is now run by Swindon Borough Council.

Coun Garry Perkins, then Swindon Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, said:

“It is good that the adjudicator made the decision based on the strength of the council’s bid.  The school is needed in Oakhurst for Oakhurst children.”

The then Conservative  Councillor for Abbey Meads, (now MP for North Swindon), Justin Tomlinson  said:

“I am exceptionally pleased with the outcome.  Working with local residents, we flooded the school adjudicator with feedback, which was also expressed at a public meeting”

I well remember the other quietly expressed political mutterings about the Al Habib Islamic Education and Culture Centre’s bid to run an Islamic school in the Borough – and I’m not going to publish them, suffice to say that they weren’t as nice, inclusive & politically correct as you might expect after reading the Councils own policies on equal opportunities, racism and religious tolerance.

Lucky then, that Michael Gove’s recent announcements of ‘Free Schools’, may well encourage Shahid Sahu, chairman of the Al Habib Islamic Education and Culture Centre, to submit another bid for a school for Muslim children in the near future.

Perhaps Shahid may wish to trot along to Worsley Road in West Swindon and have a look over the fence at the long-empty Millbrook Windmill School and then pick up the phone to Robert Buckland or Michael Gove…..

Discussion topic also on the Talkswindon.org Forum here: http://www.talkswindon.org/index.php?topic=6035.msg39934#msg39934

Millbrook Windmill School, still empty and looking like an ideal candidate to me

Edit 4th August 2010: I learned yesterday, (after reading the Swindonlink), that I had mistakenly referred to the abandoned Windmill School as ‘Millbrook’. The edit is shown in red (struckthrough) and the blog picture is similarly updated.

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