Mayfield Centre Threatened With Closure

[duckweed]

I don't know the ins and out of this but it looks like this centre may close. I believe there is to be a meeting soon. This is a great resource for schools as well as the astronomers. Many educationalists recommend outdoors education as helpful to children in more ways that purely natural history education. It is also a cheaper option for schools these days with cost of travel being so high.

[Bayleaf]

It's been under threat for quite some time. It would be a great shame to see it go, but it's yet another case of use it or lose it I'm afraid. It's a double shame now that Shepherd Wheel is back in action, which is another resource not far away from the centre which would add to the content of a visit.

Part of the trouble is it's not an easy site to get to. Public transport is quite a step away, and getting a coach there is difficult because of the narrow lanes. There's no residential facility, so given the time it would take to get there and back, the time available for anything else is limited. Even so, it did used to be well used in years gone by. Perhaps the strictness of the National Curriculum and schools being strapped for cash are involved?

[duckweed]

I don't know. I think schools dropped off because the council actually stopped advertising it for a time and many schools thought it had already closed. My husband liked taking his school there and found it great and cheaper that going residential as well as easier to fit into school timetable. But it is true that science subjects have slipped down the curriculum.