I'm trying to think up some catchy slogan or slogans on the theme of we need a High School for Atherton, but haven't come up with anything yet.

I'll need to put my thinking head on as Wurzel Gummidge used to say, and see what I can come up with between now and our next meeting on the 18th.

I'll also send you some ideas concerning what I think we need to do practically from now on to win a our fight, which it might be a good idea to circulate to everyone before the meeting so that people can have some time to mull over them and suggest amendments and/or alternatives to them. Whatever we all agree should then be put forward to the people of Atherton as our plan of action to secure a first class Community run High School in our town to rival not only any in the borough but any in the country.

I think the idea of a new Atherton Town Council, or a committee of parents from Atherton taking on the management and running of such a new non-denominational Community High School will much better capture the imagination of the people of our town than our continuing to flog the dead horse of saving the current  CofE High School, which even the CofE has washed its hands of, and which under the joint management of the CofE and the Council's over the years has led the School to the sorry situation it is in today, as well as the poor reputation, rightly or wrongly,  it has created for itself amongst large section of Atherton's townsfolk.

Yes HFHS might be improving now, but the Governing body of the school, given its current make-up, can't be relied on to lead it anywhere other than to it closure. We need a new school and a new Governing body on the current HFHS site which ALL the people of Atherton would be proud of, and given the appropriate funding from the Council, their children might excel at educationally. Also one which might incorporate some or all of the 14-19 vocational courses which have been suggested by the Council for their  proposed PFI funded 14-19 Centre at the site once the HFHS has been closed and the existing buildings demolished.

I'm confident we can win this argument and we can achieve this aim if we all work together and wage a united fight for this objective.

Best wishes

Stephen