Protestors are expected to descend on the town hall tomorrow night to oppose a council plan to spend £13m buying a deserted hospital complex so it can be converted into a free school.

The council wants to purchase the Bolingbroke Hospital site from St George’s NHS Trust.

Parents across the borough are being urged to join members of Battersea and Wandsworth Trades Union Council (BWTUC) and the Wandsworth Save our Schools campaign (SoS) at 6.30pm on Wednesday night to openly oppose the establishment of a free school on the Bolingbroke Grove site.

Campaigners vented their fury after Wandsworth Council confirmed it was looking to spend “in the region” of £13m of taxpayers’ money on a deal which would enable the Battersea-based Neighbourhood Schools Campaign (NSC) - a parent-led group - to set up and run a secular, non-selective secondary school.

They claim the cash due to be spent from the council’s budget should be used to invest in and upgrade existing secondary schools, which lost out on millions of pounds in funding when the Government axed the Building Schools for the Future project.

Paul Maloney, GMB officer who represents school support staff in Wandsworth, said: “This is a disgrace. This is the Tory party favouring the affluent over the majority of parents and school pupils in the rest of Wandsworth.

“There are surplus places in the existing secondary schools in the borough. These existing schools are in desperate need for capital investment to upgrade and maintain them and the funds to do this work have been cut.”

Laura Brown, a local parent and primary school governor, said: “We, and the majority of local people, want a proper assessment of school place needs and planned provision in local authority schools.

“The plan for Bolingbroke Academy is creating school places in response to the self-interested shouts of some of the most affluent parents in the borough.

“They have used misleading statistics to make their case and refuse to explain why they will not consider sending their children to the existing high-performing Wandsworth schools.”

Carmel Pollen, BWTUC organiser, said: “At last Wandsworth Council has been forced to admit it still has money to spend. How on earth can councillors justify cutting services and closing libraries when they have now been forced to admit they are spending £13m to acquire an inappropriate site for the development of a school?”

A spokesman for the council refused to be drawn on the multi-million pound spend debate.

A statement issued simply said: “We are supporting local parents in their bid to open a free school and will be working with them and the Government to provide extra school places and extend parental choice in this important area.

“Sadly, some militant trade unions are stuck in the past and want to stop parents from taking control of their children’s education.”

No one from NSC was available for comment.

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