Harrogate Grove Academy staff are fighting closure, photo David Hawgood/CC

Harrogate Grove Academy staff are fighting closure, photo David Hawgood/CC   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

A lively picket of staff at Harrogate’s Grove Academy, a unit educating vulnerable secondary school pupils, took place on Thursday 13 June despite the pouring rain.

North Yorkshire County Council has created a major funding gap which has already resulted in children losing places.

The council has twice delayed producing a plan of action without which the unit risks closing by Christmas. The strike was supported by the NEU, NASUWT and Unison education unions and parents.

The protest continued in the town centre with many shoppers stopping to sign the petition.

Kevin Pattison, Leeds Socialist Party