Richmond Council has been condemned by its neighbour Wandsworth over the closure of Christ's School.

The school in Queen's Road is home to nearly 500 students many of whom come from the borough of Wandsworth.

The decision to close the school was taken at a meeting of governors and trustees last Thursday night and the school looks set to shut in July 1999 and to be reopened later.

In a statement Wandsworth Council said: "It is incredible that Richmond wants to close this school; had we been consulted we would have tried to stop this happening. We are left with 185 pupils to find accommodation for. What are we now going to tell parents? To close a school and reopen it a year later, as a means of addressing problems at the school seems very strange."

In a joint statement the governors and the council gave three reasons as to why the school should close and then reopen: It is facing a deficit of £150,000; there will be less than 20 pupils from Richmond; and although the school has improved since the last OFSTED report the success of pupils still remains within the lowest quartile of exam results in the country and they will have little opportunity to improve on them. Finally a new Church of England secondary school is to be built in Wandsworth.

Richmond defended its position saying: "This was a very difficult decision to make. Richmond Council has a responsibility to its pupils and we hope to establish a new school on the site and this will open in September 2000. Pupils currently in year 10 will be given every opportunity to continue their education through to July 1999 so they may successfully complete their GCSE exam courses."

Governors have promised to include all members of staff in any consultation procedures but have also said it was too early to say what would happen to their jobs.

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