POTENTIAL roles for a school set to be closed in the summer are to be discussed next week.

A meeting has been arranged by Swindon Council’s Connecting People, Connecting Places initiative to explore solutions to the use of the Northview School building.

It is hoped residents, including parents whose children attend the school, will collaborate with the council to determine what should happen after the school closes in July.

The same parents spent months fighting to save the Highworth facility, which came under threat due to excess pupil places and falling admission numbers.

The meeting, in Northview School hall, on Wednesday, May 26, at 7pm is part of the public consultation.

James Griffin, the council’s head of policy, said: “We’re keen to ensure in the spirit of Connecting People, Connecting Places that the solution to the school’s future is developed by the community and what they want for it.”

A decision was made to close the school by cabinet members in February.

A representative of Supporting Northview – a parents’ support group formed to oppose the closure – welcomed the calling of the meeting and said many parents would be attending.

Mr Griffin said he was heartened by the attendance of over 70 people at a meeting last week on the topic.

He stressed the importance of involving the community in both coming up with ideas and putting them into practice.

A key issue raised at the meeting was the security of the site after it closes and this would be a priority.

He said if necessary a council or community-run community facilities team could be brought onto the site.

At a meeting in February, councillors decided to close the school after they heard there was a forecast surplus of places during the next three years.

But parents argued that if under the regional spatial strategy policy was to build 12,000 homes in the rural areas of Swindon by 2026, more school spaces would inevitably be required in Highworth in the coming years.

They also said the reason for falling numbers had been influenced by the rumours of closure.

Many expressed fear for their children’s safety if they were forced to walk to schools further away. Pupils will go to Westrop Primary School, which is to expand by 105 places.