A TEENAGE pupil at a closure-threatened Gwent school today writes an open letter to a council leader asking him to keep it open.

Parents, primary schools, governors and staff are currently being consulted on proposals to close Nantyglo Comprehensive School.

Meetings will take place over the next few weeks and the council wants to hear suggestions from all those concerned.

There are four options up for consultation, all of which involve closing the school and relocating pupils to Abertillery Comprehensive School or Brynmawr Foundation School, in a bid to cut surplus school places in the county.

If given the go ahead, the school could be closed by August, 31, 2010.

Year 8 pupil Jodie Fear, 13, from Caer Odyn, Blaina, has started an online petition against the plans, worried about the uncertainty she and others at the school face about where they will continue their education if the school is to close.

In an open letter to council leader Des Hillman, Jodie appeals for the school to remain open:

If the transfer goes ahead:

Dear Councillor Hillman,

I would like to express my feelings and the feelings of my classmates about the possibility of Nantyglo Comprehensive School closing. When we found out our school might close, everyone was shocked and upset and there were many questions asked about what would happen to us, our friends and our education.

Nantyglo Comprehensive School has been here for many years and many of our parents went there too. We don’t want to be separated from our friends, teachers and school.

We have heard many rumours about what is going to happen to us and it makes us feel very uncertain about our future. Most people are angry because the school could close by August 2010 - at the same time my classmates and I will be picking our GCSE subjects.

We are all worried about this as it is an important time in our school lives and if we have to go to a new school we will have to get to know new teachers and pupils. And what if the other schools don’t have some of the subjects we want to do? We are also upset that we might be separated from our friends. We have all been together since Year 7 and don’t want to be separated now. What if some of us don’t fit in at the new school and don’t make new friends?

We just want to stay in our school and finish our GCSEs so we can go on to have a good job or even go on to university.

We care about our school and our future. I hope you understand how we feel, please don’t close our school.

Yours sincerely,

Jodie Fear Year 8 pupil at Nantyglo Comprehensive School.