Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP
GORGIE DALRY GAZETTE 272 SEPTEMBER 2007
St Cuthberts Primary and Westfield Nursery are two of the twenty-two schools that the new Council say they wanted to close. And as well as the schools, Gorgie War Memorial Hall was one of four community centres also in the firing line. All of this out of the blue – none of it properly thought out.
The lack of proper consultation and the absence of any real justification is astounding.
At St Cuthbert’s, parents, teachers and pupils are rightly proud of their school and what they’ve achieved and I can see why when I visited the school again recently. St Cuthbert’s is a well respected local school but it also has a wide catchment area from Gorgie out to Currie and Balerno. Its language unit is a unique facility and its specialist music tuition is particularly admired. I was impressed by the enthusiasm of all the staff and by the friendly atmosphere at the school.
When I visited the school I met a group of primary seven pupils to listen to their views and answer their questions. They fully understand the issues involved in the closure of their school and were able to articulate their views and debate the points extremely well – the performance of these pupils is a testament to the standard of teaching provided by the school.
I also met parents and listened to their concerns - to them it made no sense for the school to be on that list of possible closures. And I know that parents and friends have worked hard to raise money for the school – improving the playground and library.
The Council is now in confusion. I have seen reports that they are considering cutting school budgets instead. How can this benefit schools?
No one is arguing that there can never be any change in the provision of schools. Decisions need to be taken on the basis of what is best for children. The Council’s administration has singularly failed to do that.
