Pent Valley school students strike against closure

Pent Valley school students rallying inside the gates, and waving a placard outside the gates, during the student strike against closure on 14.4.16, photo by Eric Segal

Pent Valley school students rallying inside the gates, and waving a placard outside the gates, during the student strike against closure on 14.4.16, photo by Eric Segal   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Bethany Smith, Sixth-form student

Hundreds of school students struck against the closure of Pent Valley Technology College on 14 April. The action in Folkestone, Kent, was part of a campaign to get the local authority to listen to us.

The atmosphere within the school was a sense of relief. Students felt like they could finally get their point across.

We have had several meetings in the school over the past few months. Kent County Council attended, and it wouldn’t answer vital questions that students needed to know. In response, students started to convey bouts of anger.

I had the idea of a student strike a few weeks back, at the community demonstration (see socialistparty.org.uk, ‘Save Pent Valley school demonstration demands a council u-turn’).

Local trade unionists and Socialist Party activists supporting the Pent Valley school student strike, 14.4.16, photo by James Ivens

Local trade unionists and Socialist Party activists supporting the Pent Valley school student strike, 14.4.16, photo by James Ivens   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

From there we gave the idea of a strike to the students, and they all organised it within themselves. We set up numerous events and pages on Facebook to notify the students, and create a strong discussion.

Back in January, I was personally told that I was best off finding another establishment to finish my A-level studies due to course closures, so I did. I even had to change course completely.

I had moved to Pent Valley in September 2013, and I couldn’t have asked for better staff to support me through crucial times in my education.

The students say this isn’t the end of the strike. School students will be appealing to teachers and their unions to join us in action on future occasions.


This version of this article was first posted on the Socialist Party website on 15 April 2016 and may vary slightly from the version subsequently printed in The Socialist.