Supporters of Redcliffs School have gathered more than 2000 submissions which they will deliver to the Ministry of Education, in a bid to keep earthquake-damaged school open.
Redcliffs School Photo: Caleb & Tom Ltd
An aftershock in June 2011 collapsed part of a large cliff behind the school and since then its 200 students have been sharing classrooms at an education centre for the deaf in the neighbouring suburb of Sumner.
If the closure went ahead, it would be the 11th primary or intermediate school to be merged or closed in Christchurch since the earthquakes.
Earthquake damage has been one of the reasons given by Minister of Education Hekia Parata in many of these closures and has again been identified in the case of Redcliffs.
Families representing generations of Redcliffs students will today hand-deliver the 2000 submissions, along with a 50-page submission from the school itself, to the Ministry of Education.
A statement from the school said the submissions were focused on addressing the reasons the minister is proposing to close the school.
"Surveys and community events have shown the school community and the wider community are fully supportive of a return to the site," the statement said.
It said the minister accepted that the school could be made safe but has said that the school was susceptible to future disruption. However the school's board had engaged a geotechnical expert whose report determined the chance of future disruption was extremely unlikely.
"This is a thriving community and this high-performing school is its beating heart," the school's statement said.
Submissions on the proposal close tomorrow.
