Cambridgeshire County Council announces plans to close the Stibbington Centre

A centre which has provided educational trips for more than 40 years could close, leaving volunteers devastated.

The Stibbington Centre could be shut and the building sold as part of Cambridgeshire County Council's plans to cut costs.

The council's Children and Young People Committee will be asked on Tuesday (January 17) to approve plans to close the educational facility after 'overspending'.

Two volunteers at the Stibbington Centre, who wish to remain anonymous, said: "We are very sad and disappointed as well as angry.

"We can understand the financial reason but it is tough.

"It will be the children that miss out."

The education centre has been located in the former Victorian school building since 1982.

After the Stibbington School's closure in the 1980s Cambridgeshire County Council agreed to continue to operate field studies at a centre on the site.

Temporary classrooms were created for residentials and a day visit centre was made in the vacated old school building, supported by the community due to a lack of funding.

"It is something which schools cant provide. It is broader education and is so valuable to children," the volunteers said.

By the 1990s two day-time courses were created to make use of the school's history, which still run today.

These are the Victorian Day programme, which re-creates school life at Stibbington in 1896 and the Evacuation Days where lessons are set in a 'wartime' 1940s style classroom and include gas mask drill and an air raid.

"Pupils take on the names of real children from that time which is a unique experience," said the volunteers.

"This is what we found has grabbed them.

"It is the perfect way for learning, especially for children who find it hard to concentrate."

The centre also has a big focus on sustainability and the environment.

Schools in Cambridgeshire travel to Stibbington for the experience as well as classes from different counties including Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.

However, Cambridgeshire has two other outdoor education centres at Grafham Water Centre and Burwell House, which the council believes would make up for the lost facility in Stibbington.

The volunteers described the centre as being a 'leader in many ways', adding: "Stibbington as a centre has been some what neglected and sidelined.

"Unfortunately during covid the support promised wasn't given."

At the centre there are a number of volunteers as well as 10 paid employees who look after and teach school classes each day.

About 3,500 children visited the centre from September 2021 to September 2022.

A letter is set to be sent to the council objecting to the decision as volunteers believe "what it provides for the children is worth more than money."

The future of the centre will be decided at a meeting on Tuesday.