Concerns eased over Army influx

Alex Gore • Published 25 Nov 2011 18:00 1 Comment

EDUCATION chiefs have dismissed fears that the school system will be unable to cope with an imminent influx of service families.

The Chronicle can reveal that 24 families will be moved into married quarters near Arborfield Garrison, with 19 due to arrive next month and the remainder expected to

follow in the new year.

The troops from 43 Squadron, Royal Logistics Corps, are arriving as part of the British Army's withdrawal from Germany but there are not enough married quarters at their new base at Abingdon's Dalton Barracks.

However, the Ministry of Defence confirmed the move would not affect the scheduled closure of Arborfield Garrison by 2015.

Wokingham Borough Council cannot confirm the number of children it will need to fit into its already squeezed system but it is anticipated around 20 youngsters will arrive next month.Council education leader Cllr Rob Stanton said: "It will not put as much pressure on us as I might have feared when I was first told about this. The good fortune is the children are all different ages and are very well spread across the piece, which actually makes it do-able.

"We are not putting 20-odd children in one school."

Married soldiers will travel daily by bus from Arborfield to Dalton Barracks to work, while single servicemen and women are being housed in Bicester.

MoD spokesman Tony Moran said: "This distribution of

personnel makes the most sensible use of existing services accommodation in the area."

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 25 Nov 11

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• 

  Air Biscuit
  Unregistered User
  Nov 25, 21:31
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  Hmmm, that is only 43 families all of whom one imagines are indigenous UK citizens. Strange how the local council doesn't seem to object to the mass tides of immigrants flooding the county. None of whom fought for this country unless of course fighting to get in merely to claim benefit/s counts?
  
  Recommend?   Yes 9     No 2

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  Jan 22, 16:17
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