For 125 years, there has been a strong Catholic secondary school presence in Bradford, and for the last 11 years this has been at SBSJ. These schools have produced many thousands of successful citizens and have been trusted by many families, not just those that are Catholic.
The current demographic of the school reflects that of the city more than any other school within the area. The school is rich with students from over 30 different ethnicities and welcomes students of many faiths or none. We are a school that is proudly diverse.

We feel that the impact assessments presented are incomplete, vague, inaccurate and do not take into account the safety and well being of the many young people and families that this will effect.

We feel that a saving of £200k is insignificant when balanced against the value that the college and it's wider community contributes to the city and district and has done for generations, and that the impact of this action is potentially damaging to the entire community.

The impact on demand for school places across the city, as well as the impact on the environment through extra car journeys would be significant and this is not reflected in the impact assessments that form part of the proposal.

We feel that the Catholic community is being discriminated against and that the manner of this entire proposal is unfair, unjust and unsafe.

We would urge further discussion and dialogue on this matter, with a view to maintaining the current support that Bradford MDC has committed to for many years, as an acknowledgement of the significant positive contribution that the Catholic schools, on behalf of the wider Catholic Church, makes to our city.

This ePetition runs from 05/11/2024 to 02/12/2024.

1965 people have signed this ePetition.