Czech Saturday school fears losing classrooms

The head teacher of a Czech Saturday school attended by about 70 children has said she fears she will "struggle" to find new premises after councillors agreed to close the primary school where it holds lessons.

Czech School & Community Manchester has held classes at St Teresa's RC Primary School in Firswood, Trafford, for just over two years, with children travelling from as far as Sheffield to attend.

Trafford Council decided to shut St Teresa's after it said falling pupil numbers made its finances unsustainable.

Pavla Mataskova, head teacher, said she needed enough space for nine classes and had a limited budget. The council and diocese said they would help look for "alternatives".

"We struggled before to find our premises and we have to go through it all again," Mataskova said.

The organisation provides Saturday lessons in Czech language, history and geography for children who attend other schools during the week.

Families travel from across the north-west of England and as far afield as Sheffield for the classes, she said.

Mataskova said the school was one of 15 Czech education providers worldwide with an agreement with the Czech Ministry of Education.

The lessons help Czech children maintain links with their heritage and learn about the culture their parents grew up in, while preparing those who may eventually return to the Czech Republic.

Mataskova said finding alternative premises would be difficult.

"We have nine classes so we need nine little spaces for them and it's not easy," she said.

She said the organisation had not received any direct communication from Trafford Council or the Diocese of Salford about the future of its Saturday lessons.

The diocese, which owns the site, said no decisions about its future use had been made during the consultation period.

The local authority said: "The letting of the school on a weekend was an operational decision taken directly by the school.

"If the organisation concerned reaches out to the council or the diocese we will look at alternatives for them."

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