Primary school closures to cost city £1.5m

Published on Tuesday 25 August 2009 09:42

CLOSING four Edinburgh primary schools is going to cost the city council a total of £1.5 million – £429,000 more than will be immediately saved by axing them.

New classrooms and nurseries will have to be created in nearby schools in order to accommodate pupils, while extra pedestrian crossings will need to be installed near the alternative schools.

A new report published as part of the public consultation process, which is now under way, reveals the savings that will be made through staffing and running costs amount to just less than 1.1m per year, while the council will have to fork out an initial outlay of 1.5m on the improvements and extensions before the four schools can close.

The council hopes to bring in 2.4m through land sales, which would be re-invested into upgrading other schools, although selling the land is likely to take some time in the current economic climate.

The three schools axed during the last round of closures are still lying empty. Education chiefs are proposing to close Drumbrae, Royston, Fort and Burdiehouse primaries next summer.

City education leader Marilyne MacLaren said today: "If these proposals go ahead, we expect that the sale of former school sites would more than cover the investment in new nursery facilities and school upgrades. Beyond that, 1m in running costs would be saved each year – revenue that would help protect core school budgets in these difficult times.

"To offer the best possible education to Edinburgh's young people, we need to be sure that our schools are full of pupils and this process can help us do that."

In order to cater for the extra pupils, work would be required at the receiving schools.

A total of 790,000 would need to be spent in order to close Burdiehouse Primary.

The vast majority of this – 730,000 – would be used to build a new nursery at Gracemount Primary and convert the existing nursery for primary class use.

A pedestrian crossing would need to be installed on Lasswade Road at a cost of 45,000, while 15,000 would be spent on Gilmerton Primary.

The cost associated with closing Drumbrae is 605,000, which will be spent on a new nursery and converting the existing nursery into classrooms at Clermiston Primary and installing a pedestrian crossing on Drum Brae Drive.

A further 330,000 may also be required at Clermiston in future to add two new classrooms.

If the council closes Royston Primary, it would need to spend 91,000 to expand the existing nursery accommodation at Granton Primary and return two classrooms in the day care centre wing back to school use.

15,000 would have to be spent upgrading Trinity Primary if Fort were to close.

The council expects to net 768,000 through selling Drumbrae, 773,000 for Royston and 908,000 for Burdiehouse. Fort Primary will be retained in case it is needed again in the future.

Vikki Spence, member of the campaign group Fighting for Fort, said parents will be meeting on Thursday to discuss the report.

She said: "On first reading, the figures look like the council has such a good case and we've had it, but as you look more closely the figures don't make sense.

"For example, the attainment figures compare Fort with the city average, but they are only supposed to be measured against other schools in the same socio-economic conditions."

FORT

FORT Primary currently has 95 pupils and an occupancy rate of just 33 per cent – the lowest in the city.

The school roll has never risen above 110 pupils between 2003 and 2008.

Only 66 pupils in the Fort catchment attend their local school – a retention rate of 38 per cent.

Levels of educational attainment in reading and maths are 10 per cent below the city average and attainment in writing is 20 per cent below the average.

Staffing and servicing costs per pupil are 64 per cent above the city average.

The proposal is to close Fort next year and instead send children to Trinity, where attainment levels are higher.

Trinity currently has 80 spare places, but planned adaptations will increase the capacity to 15 classes to accommodate the entire Fort roll.

The Fort school building is to be retained to provide future primary school places should they be required following the regeneration of the Leith Docks/Western Harbour.

The community wing at Fort and the nursery school would continue to operate from the Fort building.

Conversion of the school to offices or other uses provides an option for making use of surplus space.

Parents from Fort and Trinity have joined together to form campaign groups, with Vikki Spence leading the Fighting for Fort organisation.

Public meetings run by the council will be held for parents of children at Fort and Trinity on 22 September at Fort Primary from 7-9pm and on 29 September at Trinity Primary from 7-9pm.

DRUMBRAE

DRUMBRAE Primary has just 91 pupils after falling from 119 since the start of the summer holidays.

The new report states the school has been placed on the closure hit-list as it has one of the lowest occupancy rates in the city at less than 39 per cent.

Its school roll has fallen by 36 per cent over the last five years and only 41 per cent of the catchment pupils attend their local school.

Because it is operating with so few pupils, the cost to the city per pupil is 5,022, compared with an Edinburgh average of 3,699.

Levels of educational attainment in reading are said to be 15 per cent below the city average for 2008, while attainment in writing and maths is around 10 per cent below the city average.

The council is proposing to send pupils from Drumbrae to either Clermiston or East Craigs primaries, which both perform above the city average in reading, writing and maths.

The council expects the sale of the land would bring in 768,000 after demolition costs.

It is currently looking for a site for a new care home in the area and Drumbrae is a "strong candidate" for this.

The valuation of the land is based on the school playing field being retained for community use.

Campaigners fighting the plans have set up a Save Drumbrae group who have a public meeting tonight.

The official consultation meetings will be held by the council at Drumbrae Primary on 8 September from 7-9pm and at the Royal High on 10 September from 7-9pm.

ROYSTON

ROYSTON has a school roll of 161 pupils, which is an occupancy rate of just more than 40 per cent.

The roll has fallen by 32 per cent over the last five years, with only 38 per cent of pupils living in the catchment area attending their local school.

It is proposed that Royston pupils go to either Granton or Forthview primaries, which both have spare capacity for extra pupils.

Royston is situated between these two schools and the catchment area could be split.

The Granton catchment area would be extended to incorporate the eastern half of the Royston catchment area, while the Forthview catchment area would be extended to incorporate the western half. It is estimated that the roll would increase by about 126 pupils at Granton, creating a new roll of 347 pupils in 13 classes.

It is estimated that the roll would increase by about 54 pupils at Forthview, creating a new roll of 343 pupils in 14 classes.

Levels of educational attainment in reading and writing in 2008 were more than 20 per cent below the city average and educational attainment in maths was 37 per cent below the city average.

Staffing and servicing costs per pupil are 20 per cent above the city average.

A survey carried out on the condition of the building identified a need for repairs and maintenance totalling more than 256,000 over the next five years.

Public meetings for parents will take place on 23 September at Royston Primary from 7-9pm and on 30 September at Telford College from 7-9pm.

BURDIEHOUSE

BURDIEHOUSE Primary currently has 131 pupils and an occupancy rate of just more than 41 per cent.

The school roll has fallen by 14 per cent over the last five years, with only 40 per cent of catchment pupils going to their local school.

The report states it costs 6,076 per pupil, compared with a city average of 3,699.

All pupils would be offered a place at Gracemount and it is estimated that its roll would increase by up to 127 pupils, creating a new roll of 478 pupils in 18 classes. A new nursery would also be built.

Some pupils may choose to attend Gilmerton Primary under the proposed new catchment areas.

Both schools have higher levels of attainment than Burdiehouse, which is below the city average for reading, writing and maths.

Two public meetings have been organised for parents of children affected on 5 October at Burdiehouse and on 8 October at Gracemount.