A COUNCILLOR has called on a local authority to apologise over its handling of a primary school it had considered closing.

Councillor Andrew Carter, leader of the Conservative opposition on Leeds Council welcomed the Labour administration’s decision to keep Queensway Primary School in Yeadon open, two months after touting the prospect of shutting it.

But he branded the move a “humiliation” for those in charge and a “screeching, U-turn” at an executive board meeting on Wednesday.

Last week, Labour councillors voted down motions from opposition members, who’d called for the process to be paused so that concerns raised by upset parents and staff could be addressed.

But on Wednesday, the Council’s leadership withdrew a paper which would have progressed the case to close the school onto the next stage, saying it had “listened to the strength of feeling” over the issue.

Speaking to the Council’s executive member for schools, Cllr Jonathan Pryor, Cllr Carter asked: “Will you apologise to the staff, parents and pupils of Queensway Primary School for not withdrawing the recommendations at Council on Wednesday?

“It would have saved some level of anguish. It was perfectly obvious to most people that mistakes had been made.”

Cllr Carter said parents and staff had put forward a “very, very persuasive case” to keep the school open.

He told Labour members: “That case was there last Wednesday. It was there before last Wednesday and then you have to wait until the humiliation of last Wednesday to now get to here and withdraw this paper.

“Sometimes U-turns are a good thing aren’t they? You’re making a massive, screeching one, albeit late in the day.”

But in response, Cllr Pryor attacked the Conservative Government’s record on schools funding, which he said had seen £1.7m pulled from Queensway since 2010.

He also warned the decision to keep the school open would mean “difficult” choices being made in the coming years, as education bosses try to tackle a massive shortage in the number of school-aged pupils in the area.

That shortage was the reason the Council had first explored closing Queensway.

Other schools in the surrounding area could now again be asked to reduce the number of pupils they take in every year, even though they’ve previously been reluctant to do so for fear of losing money.

Cllr Pryor told Cllr Carter: “I won’t take any lectures about what parties have done to schools when your party has a shameful record of funding for schools.

“I’d welcome you to come and speak to any of the headteachers anywhere in Leeds and justify those gargantuan cuts across the board. I’m not sure you’d dare."