Herefordshire Council decided to completely withdraw the controversial proposals about school closures which were issued in January when they met on Friday February 8th, in a packed chamber at Hereford Shire Hall. No High Schools will close within the lifetime of the current council tenure, which effectively means May 2011, and plans relating to Primary Schools have also been abandoned apart from the pre-existing Small Schools Policy. Council Leader Roger Phillips said:?"Any future drafting of any changes affecting Herefordshire schools will involve heads, governors, parents, the local community and local ward councillors. These groups will examine and exhaust every opportunity to ensure the continued protection of our schools." Co-founders of HACS, Jane Ward and Eugene Gooch, said the planned march in Hereford would go on, they said: "Councillor Phillips and his colleagues need to be held to account as to why the Council and the LEA put our schools and communities in this position in the first place. If it wasn't for the huge stand the people of Herefordshire have made, including the Rally organised by HACS, then the Council would have backed the proposals and we would have seen our schools and communities decimated." "There is still no clarity on whether the review process, due to culminate in September, is to continue. Further, there has never been any comment from the council when pressed on the question of whether they have obtained agreement from central government to extend the June 2008 deadline. The original plan to implement the proposals in 2009 has simply been delayed - in effect, there has just been a stay of execution for three years." They said that HACS want to see the people responsible for ordering the initial proposals and those involved in preparing them removed from their posts. adding that the people of Herefordshire have no confidence in them to do a better job next time. They added:?"Councillor Phillips himself admitted the figures and the whole process was flawed, yet no-one involved in the process has been dismissed, disciplined or reprimanded in any way. They simply cannot be trusted." Jane Ward and Eugene Gooch added: "The Rally will still take place. We would expect fewer people now that our main aim has so successfully been achieved, but HACS are being contacted by schools and other groups urging us to carry on. The Rally will still show the council that they cannot abuse their positions and will force them to include the people of the county in any future decision-making process as well as being a celebration of genuine democracy and people-power." For further information on the rally or any other aspects of HACS please contact Jane Ward or Eugene Gooch on [email protected]">[email protected] At Monday's meeting of the Ross Town Council, Councillor Phil Cutter, who is a governor at St Joseph's RC Primary School said he welcomed the Council's decision but said that St Joseph's was in no danger of being amalgamated with a Church of England School. He read out the statement from the Roman Catholic Arch-diocese in Cardiff which said: "We value our partnership with Herefordshire Council in maintaining our four Catholic schools in the County. We also appreciate the excellent relationships between the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Church of England Diocese of Hereford, where there is close co-operation on issues affecting all church schools in Herefordshire. However, having carefully considered the serious concerns expressed by our local Parish and school communities in the area, the Archdiocese is not able to support the Council's original proposal to create a joint Catholic / Church of England School in Ross-on-Wye, and will endeavour to ensure that St. Joseph's continues to flourish as a Catholic Primary School".