Gordonbrock rebuild: Head dismisses BrocSoc plans

The headteacher and Chair of Governors of Gordonbrock school have dismissed an alternative set of designs for a rebuilt school, developed by campaigners against the Council's plans.

The Brockley Society and a number of parents of children at the school are opposed to the plans on the basis that that they will demolish some of the Edwardian buildings, reduce outdoor space and force the children to travel to Greenvale in Perry Rise (no, us neither - it's in Forst Hill). They have and commissioned their own designs for a new school, which would maintain the original buildings.

The Brockley Society and its campaign partners have launched a campaign website and developed an alternative proposal, which is not intended to be a detailed design, but to show what might be possible without resorting to demolition or decanting kids by coach.

In a letter home to parents yesterday, the Head and Chair of Governors at Gordonbrock said that BrocSoc's arguments were "unrealistic and misleading" and that its plans were "seriously flawed", failing to include key elements and displaying "wishful thinking" by suggesting that kids could remain on site during the construction. Concerned about the threat of legal action by BrocSoc, which has appointed a Planning Law solicitor to try to challenge the application and secure an injunction on demolition, they say:

"Our greatest fear is that if there is any significant delay in building the new school we will once again lose the funding, which is time limited. Having already been in this position once before, this would truly be a disaster for the school. The children would continue to use outside toilets, have small classrooms and have no access to a quality school library."

In response BrocSoc points out that there are many examples of school renovations taking place in a piecemeal fashion, to avoid closures. They say that the design issues raised by the letter are easily solvable and are the result of having their requests to speak to staff about their detailed requirements ignored.