‘I burst into tears when I learnt of Prudhoe Castle school plan’

A mother who uses a mobility scooter to take her daughter back and forth from school has said plans to move pupils to a new site are “incredibly cruel”.

Last week the Cheviot Learning Trust announced it was considering merging Mickley and Broomley first schools in Northumberland, as well as Prudhoe Castle and Ovingham CE first schools in September 2026 due to financial reasons.

Michelle Gallon, whose seven-year-old child goes to Prudhoe Castle, said she “burst into tears” when she heard the news.

The trust said the plans were still in consultation. Alice Witherow, head of the trust, said: “We very much want to engage with the community to listen to views and representations.”

Ms Gallon, who has a medical condition that declines with age and affects mobility, said she moved to Prudhoe when pregnant to be near to Prudhoe Castle which she could travel to by using a wheelchair or mobility scooter.

“We chose this school because it was accessible for me and would allow me to be able to continue to live independently.”

“This decision is taking that choice away from me,” she said.

The trust has said it is considering plans to shut Prudhoe Castle and move its pupils to the site of Ovingham CE which is about 0.8 miles (1.3km) away.

Ms Gallon, who does not drive, said her husband died in July and that she drops off and picks up her child from school.

She said: “There is no way my mobility scooter can get across the bridge to Ovingham, there is no safe path, there’s no footpath for me.”

She said the decision was “incredibly cruel” and “unfair” and that the announcement had left her in “limbo”.

“Do we preemptively jump now?” she said. “I don’t want to pull my child unless I absolutely have to.”

She added: “The trust is looking at the financial side for them, they’re not looking at the financial side for the families whose lives they’re going to be interrupting.”

Another parent at Prudhoe Castle, Stacey Martin, said there had been “no transparency” about the plans and that had there been “no communication” prior to the announcement.

She said it felt like a “funeral” when she picked up her two children from school on Wednesday after the plans had been announced.

“I feel like they are taking away the heart of our little community,” she said.

The trust said falling pupil numbers affected school funding and that it could not “sustain the high quality of education” it offered if it continued as it was.

The trust’s head Alice Witherow said: “We fully recognise that this is a difficult situation for everyone but hope that by working together with parents, and staff we will come to the best solution for children.”

She said a final decision would be made following the consultation in early January.