Phillipstown School Considers Its Next Steps

Phillipstown School Considers Its Next Steps

Phillipstown School is ecstatic with yesterday’s historic legal victory against the Government’s decision to merge it with neighbouring school, Woolston, and is now considering its next steps to keep the school open.

The Christchurch High Court declared that the Minister of Education’s decision to merge Phillipstown was unlawful and that the Minister had failed to consult with the school to the standard required by law.

Phillipstown School will be taking further advice from its lawyer Mai Chen and its legal team at Chen Palmer regarding its next steps and will be teleconferencing with them on Monday. The school is waiting to hear if the Minister will appeal the decision, or if she will consult again, and if so on what.

Phillipstown School also wishes to thank parents, students and legal team who supported them to achieve yesterday’s victory.

“We could not have achieved this amazing result without the fantastic support of so many people” said Phillipstown School Principal, Tony Simpson.

“I want to pay a special tribute to our lawyer Mai Chen, and the entire legal team at Chen Palmer. They put in a tremendous amount of effort, skill and legal expertise into our successful case. I honestly believe we could not have done this without them. They believed in our case.”

Phillipstown School is looking forward to engaging constructively with the Ministry of Education, to discuss ways to keep the school open for the benefit of its students, their parents and the local community.

Phillipstown School also wishes to thank the many parents, students, families and members of the local community who supported the school throughout its legal case.

 “Yesterday was a big victory for a little school. But I always knew we had the backing of our parents, students and our local community. The school appreciates every single thing you did for us, and we want you to share in our victory too.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media