Thurston Place College - STOPPED!

We did it! The Ministry of Education has listened to the legitimate concerns of our community and Thurston Place College will no longer be going ahead.

The ministry has recognised what we have said all along. They will now be placing the intended students into mainstream schools with wraparound services. Read the press statement here:  http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1204/S00078/wrap-around-services-an-alternative-to-thurston-place.htm 

This outcome reflects the amazing effort of our community. Thank you to everyone who helped us achieve this great success. 

Special thanks to the local principals - particularly Ginty Bigwood - and the local school boards, under the strong leadership of Cameron Astill. Thank you to Michael Williams and the Howick Local Board, Sharon Stewart, Dick Quax and Maurice Williamson. All our local politicians gave fantastic support throughout.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in the protest actions, with outstanding leadership from Nicole Pinker and Shobha Chand. Without Shobha and Nicole the two successful protests and our meeting with John Key would not have occurred.

Thank you to our Chinese community, particularly the leadership shown by Richard Zhai, Wilson Zhou and Yugen He. The generosity and passion of the Chinese community has been phenomenal and key to our success.

Many thanks to the residents of Thurston Place and surrounding streets. They were our eyes and ears and very active in the campaign. Particular thanks to Aleksey Yashin for letting us know immediately all action on the site as it was happening.

Thanks to all who helped in their areas of professional expertise - Brooke Spong, Kirsten Hawke, Steve Hope, Feng Zhan, Lisa Jacobs, Max Mullins, Ben Hunter, Stuart Ryan, Galbraiths Lawyers and Dean Barker.

Sincere gratitude to all members of the Bucklands Beach Action Society. Thank you to everyone who helped deliver flyers, assisted at meetings and with the collection of money.

We thank everyone who signed petitions, donated money and came to meetings and protests. We have named some of the most generous contributors on the website.

Many thanks for the great support we have received from local media - particularly the Howick and Pakuranga Times, Eastern Courier and Chinese TV.

We are so proud of the way our community has come together to fight for the safety of our local children. Together we have been a powerful force and we have achieved a result which benefits both our community and the proposed students of Thurston Place College.

Thank you everyone
Richard and Andrea Spong

Information you must know:
The planned secondary school will cater for up to 100 students in Child Youth and Family care with severe behavioural and emotional issues.

Local schools and residents strongly oppose the plan because of concerns for the health and safety of local children.