Cuts to a Harrogate special school finally bite this Christmas with a 8 redundancies. The Alternative provision, Springwell Harrogate, known better to the local community as the Grove Academy Pupil Referral Service, will keep its doors open but will be forced to operate on less than half its previous budget. The school in Harrogate provides education for pupils who struggle in the mainstream classroom. Most pupils have special educational needs and often very complex emotional needs. The school has remained “Outstanding” in 4 consecutive OFTSED inspections but the speed and severity of the cuts proposed meant that last Christmas there were fears it could close entirely. For two years the “Save the Grove” campaign fought a public battle to highlight the plight of the school and other special needs services facing similar cuts. The campaign delayed the cuts but could not convince local or national government to row back on them.