COMMENT: Reality bites (From Oxford Mail)

COMMENT: Reality bites

9:30am Thursday 9th September 2010 in News

THE children at Charlton-on-Otmoor Primary School are certainly beneficiaries of timing.

Years One to Six are this week exploring new permanent school facilities after their predecessors had to endure 17 years of portable cabins as classrooms.

How other schools must be looking at those facilities with envy today.

The Government’s programme is on hold and Oxfordshire County Council’s own capital scheme is under review.

There are many schools in dire need of improvement but it appears the pot is, if not empty, then certainly very low.

The cry is the same across every other sector of the public service: surely we can be spared the pain and money found to fulfil previous commitments.

We certainly hope there is extra effort to ensure other schools with the facilities Charlton-on-Otmoor had get the work they need.

The pupils at that school spoke of smelly and cold classrooms and surely we cannot expect our children to suffer those types of conditions as we try to set them up for a rich future.