STAFF, governors and parents at Ilkley's All Saints School have launched a campaign to raise £45,000 to provide much-needed facilities when their new school is built on Skipton Road.

Under the Bradford education reorganisation from a three to a two-tier education system, the school, as a new primary, will move from its present site on Leeds Road to new buildings on land which has been earmarked for the past 35 years.

But when the £2 million plans for the new school were unveiled, it was noticed that there were no plans for rooms to provide group work, music or information technology.

The new buildings have no extra rooms for teaching special needs, none for literacy and numeracy groups or dedicated areas where older pupils can develop the self-discipline to study on their own.

One of the organisers of the fundraising campaign, Luci Smith, said: "The new plans meet basic needs but restrict the school's ability to stretch pupils to their limits and prepare them for the demands of an increasingly competitive world. The building plans are two rooms short of a much better school."

Despite intense lobbying from the school, Bradford Council could not find the extra cash needed to improve the plans.

So the school has turned for help to the community of Ilkley more than a century after the original school was built from a public subscription of £2,000.

Mrs Smith said: "The extra rooms could be rented, out of school hours, by community groups seeking education for all, and a place to meet or study. All Saints could be a focal point for education in the town."

Organisers of the campaign will be staging a series of fund-raising activities in the town, ranging from a sponsored a brick campaign to an auction of promises.

"Once again, the people of Ilkley will be called on to help build a better future for their children," said Mrs Smith.

Parents of current pupils have donated £7,000 to the building fund and, as a last resort, the school has been offered loans to cover the rest of the cash if the money is not raised, but the school would like to avoid getting off to a fresh start burdened by debt.

Head teacher Peter Marsh said that the school was still working to its original timetable of opening in September next year.

Local traders and businesses will be receiving invitations to invest in the future of All Saints and organisers are asking the public to donate what they can.

Donations can be made in person or by post to: All Saints Building Fund, All Saints Primary School, Leeds Road, Ilkley, LS29 8EF.

Organisers are also keen to receive details of former pupils living outside Ilkley who would like to receive details about the campaign, people willing to sponsor a brick or offer their favourite memory of All Saints - and an other fundraising ideas.

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