School closure protesters in Parliament Square yesterday

MY primary school years evoke happy memories of mid-morning milk cartons and collecting ladybirds in a drawer, with little concern for the hardships or politics of the day.

So I was saddened to see two small children addressing a rally of their peers, parents and striking teachers as I strolled through Parliament Square yesterday morning (Thursday), where they were protesting the impending closure of their schools.

With megaphones raised high and tearful teachers looking on, the two little girls stood side by side and shouted over tourists and traffic, hoping to have their voices heard by the suited parliamentarians and purse-string holders in their lofty offices underneath Big Ben.

Their message was simple: “We may be small schools, but we have big hearts!”

I found the National Education Union’s Pippa Dowswell in a crowd of blue union flags and banners, who told me schools are on the line because of “falling rolls”. That is, they don’t have enough children to stay financially viable.

Ms Dowswell explained that although councils decide the future of their schools, it’s the government that decide how much money those councils will get.

Schools get around £6,000 per pupil, meaning those with fewer children struggle to get enough money to pay teachers, bills and building maintenance and are being forced to shut up shop for good.

This is happening across inner London, Ms Dowswell explained.

“Young parents can’t afford to live here. Our cities are being hollowed out of children. The pupils left in our schools are those who can’t move because they live on housing estates, so it’s hitting the poorest in society, the most disadvantaged in society. Its absolutely awful.”

While the campaigning tots were impressive, it seems wrong that they should be forced to hold a demonstration outside parliament in order to stay with the friends and teachers they are growing up with.

It makes me wonder about our leaders’ priorities. There is money enough to send guns and weapons to fight wars abroad, so surely we can find a little more to pay for education.

Are there no alternatives to closure for these lovely community hubs that have taught and nurtured so many generations of families?

My old friend Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn was on the march with his constituents too.

He told me there are options other than school closure, such as letting empty rooms to community organisations like nursing homes or mental health charities.

One striking teacher, Phoebe Oakley, put it most succinctly as she spoke to the small but determined rally from the feet of Millicent Fawcett’s statue.

“Today we’re standing outside one of the oldest government buildings in the world, a place where we elect people to represent us as part of our democracy.

“But is democracy working if communities are forgotten and left behind? I don’t think so.”
Ms Oakley makes an excellent point.

Leave the schools alone, I say, and let the five-year-olds drink their milk cartons.