ISLE of Wight Council leader Dave Stewart has committed to keeping Sandown Bay Academy open, in one of his first pledges in his renewed role.
The academy's sponsor Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) announced plans last Thursday to merge the school with Ryde Academy, prompting fears that the Sandown site could close.
Cllr Stewart said: “Sandown Bay is a popular school with parents, students and staff alike. We need a school on that site and my administration will do all in its power to ensure provision on that site continues.” 
Cllr Chris Whitehouse, who leads on education for the Conservative group on the Island, said: “Over my dead body will Sandown not have its own secondary school. We will be pulling out every stop to deliver on this clear objective.”
Chris Quirk, former chair of governors at the academy, who resigned his involvement with AET in protest at the proposed merger, and who was recently elected as a member of the Isle of Wight Council, added: “The plans of AET appear to be driven purely by the desire to reduce costs and nothing to do with improving education. The plan is educationally illiterate.”
Cllr Tig Outlaw, in whose ward the academy is based, and who was also recently elected to the council, said: “Speaking not just as the newly elected councillor for the ward but as a Sandown Bay Academy parent, I will be working tirelessly with council colleagues, parents and all interested parties to secure the future of secondary education in the Bay.”
Cllr Paul Brading, the recently elected new Conservative councillor for Lake South added: “As a former student, parent, and having served eight years as a governor, recently sacked, I will work tirelessly to ensure the school does not close. It’s vital for all the children and parents of Lake that we tackle this urgent issue head on.”