Ilkley school's fight to stop plans to scrap two school buses

Children may be forced to move schools if the proposed scrapping of two school bus services goes ahead, a headteacher has said.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is reviewing its Mybus yellow bus service for primary schools.

Amanda Rhodes, headteacher at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Ilkley, said it could mean children looking for "other school provision".

A WYCA consultation on the proposals ends on Friday.

The authority said the P98 and P99 services, which serve four primary schools in the Ilkley and Menston area, did not meet "value for money criteria" so it planned to withdraw the service at the end of the current academic year in July.

It said the number of children regularly using both services had declined in recent years, with just 70 children registered to be taken to and from school each day and an actual daily passenger count of about 30.

Between them the two routes cost about £113,000 a year to run, with revenue from passengers totalling about £15,000, WYCA said.

Ms Rhodes said if the buses were withdrawn the impact on some families with children at the school would be "devastating".

She said: "We've got children who are really settled here with parents who have no other means of getting them to school, so unfortunately for those children they will have to look at other school provision and that's quite limited in the area."

Ms Rhodes said on paper withdrawing the bus services "made financial sense", but to the children who used the service it would have "massive consequences".

She said she had written to WYCA with a list of questions regarding the proposed withdrawal, including what assessment had been carried out to ensure that "children's right to an education under the Human Rights Act was not being compromised".

"I want them to think about that, its not all about money," she said.

One pupil at the school told BBC News the proposed cuts were "a bit depressing because I might have to change schools which means leaving all my friends".

Another child said: "I like getting the bus because I get to talk with my friends and get to spend extra time with them."

About 400 people have signed a petition against the plans.

WYCA said it had not yet made a final decision on the future of the service. It said it had invited comments on the proposed withdrawal "to better understand the potential impacts on children and parents".

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