ONE of the unhappiest chapters in the recent life of the Faithful City could soon end with the demolition of Elbury Mount Primary School - heralding the opening of a new chapter for its Brickfields residents in the shape of a new school proposed for the same site.

Elbury became the focus of conflict between beliefs in 1999 when county education director Julien Kramer decided its children were being denied the schooling they deserved and called for its closure.

A formidable alliance of parents and community leaders beat off that threat.

It was a victory which brought with it a pressure to prove that they were, indeed, right to insist that the school - and the community - could deliver, and not just for its children.

Education doesn't stop at 16 or 18, and neither should it. But too great a slice of society has a curious - and often unchallenged idea - that it does.

We've long believed that, considering Brickfields' social and economic circumstances, the benefit of a lifelong learning centre could be great.

A lifelong learning centre is already being built on the existing site, and moves are afoot to win the funding for a community nursery there, too.

At the same time, the Government's SureStart programme is about to pump thousands of pounds into providing social and educational opportunities for Brickfields at large.

In short, the area has never had a better chance to pull itself up by the bootstraps. Now it must.