PARENTS have been urged to get behind Winsford Academy following a number of cuts due to declining pupil numbers.

Fallibroome Multi-Academy Trust took over sponsorship of Winsford Academy in September 2014, after the Department for Education withdrew academy chain E-ACT’s right to sponsor the school.

In January, the Academy announced the suspension of its sixth form provision with full effect from September 2016 due to funding cuts.

And last month the Academy opened a 30-day consultation to reduce the teaching staff due to declining pupil numbers.

Winsford Town councillor Tony Hooton, who is acting chairman on the Academy’s board of governors, has now appealed to parents to support the school as they look towards securing its future.

Cllr Hooton said: “I just wish people who knock the place who don't send their kids there would come and have a look at it.

“And if there are parents who have kids at the Academy, well it doesn’t help some of the things they say. It just depresses and demoralises the kids who are working hard there.”

Despite such a difficult period for the school, Cllr Hooton believes has insisted it will not close.

Cllr Hooton said: “It’s been difficult the last few years with reducing pupil numbers, but we’re coming to the end of that now and I can assure you the school will not close.

“It cannot close, it will go forward. We’ve made a hell of a lot of progress in the last three years and it’s a pity we’ve had to stop the sixth form and make the other cuts all at the same time.”

However, Cllr Hooton said the school still faces a tough challenge to encourage parents to send their children to schools in Winsford

“We’ve still got to convince people to send their kids to secondary school in Winsford, and it’s an uphill battle,” Cllr Hooton said.

“It’s always been a struggle in Winsford to get people to see there are good schools in Winsford the same as everywhere else.

“Okay the results are not brilliant, but we did start from a very low base and its building up nicely.”