Edinburgh Conservatives Seek To Save Schools
We will be continuing our efforts to persuade the other political groups in the Council to declare their positions.
The City of Edinburgh Council Conservative Group today announced its intention to seek to save Fort and Drumbrae Primary schools from closure when the matter comes before the Council on 17 December. Four schools are proposed for closure by the Lib Dem/SNP Administration and the Conservative Group is looking at the merits of each school individually. Having considered the case for Fort Primary and Drumbrae Primary the Conservative Group believes both should remain open.
Cllr Jeremy Balfour the Conservative spokesperson on Education, Children and Families said:"We believe the Lib Dem/SNP Administration is wrong about these two schools. We have been very impressed by the way parents at these schools have responded to the consultation on closure and have put forward a persuasive case as to why both schools have a future and should be saved.
“We have looked at the educational and financial issues very carefully before coming to this view. In the case of Fort, the proposed receiving school, Trinity, can’t be guaranteed to maintain educational standards for all and take the numbers of children involved. Nor can the proposal fully provide for the well documented additional educational support needs of some of the children transferring. At Drumbrae we do not believe the proposals take proper account of future population growth in the wider area. On top of these educational reasons the inability to sell the sites in the current economic climate means the financial benefits are very limited.”
Cllr Iain Whyte the Conservative Group Leader urged Councillors from every party to support the Conservative proposal to save these schools. He added:
"The whole school closure process is flawed as it does not take enough account of parental choice. If the Conservatives were running education in Edinburgh we would be looking at the school estate in a very different way and considering parent run, charitable trusts as a means of improving the reputations of schools with limited pupil numbers. I hope the Council will vote these proposals down as a welcome early Christmas present for children and parents of Fort and Drumbrae primary schools."
Highlighting the local dimension Cllr Allan Jackson, Conservative Councillor for Forth Ward said:
"The proposal to close Fort Primary and relocate the children to Trinity is one of the most ridiculous suggestions I have heard in my 30 plus years as a Councillor. The Fort building is to be retained for other uses so will still have to be maintained and staffed and there will be no capital receipt to the Council. The only saving will be the salaries of a few teachers who will be relocated to other schools in Edinburgh.
“With around 100 extra children going to Trinity it will be packed beyond its current capacity and many rooms currently used for science and computers will have to be used as basic teaching space. Facilities like the gym and dining halls will be unable to cope and the school will be stretched to breaking point. I have never received so many emails and letters on any issue. I call on the Council Administration coalition to drop this crazy idea now and avoid a whole lot of unnecessary grief.”