School closures: 'Some of the 350 pupils affected were in tears'

Published on Thursday 1 July 2010 10:05

SO, FAREWELL then, Fort, Drumbrae, Burdiehouse and Royston primary schools after a combined service of 220 years.

The four schools have closed their doors for the last time because their rolls had fallen so far the city council believed they had no future.

Some of the 350 pupils directly affected were in tears as they headed home for their summer holidays. In August, they will start anew at other, usually further afield, primaries in the area.

It was a bittersweet moment for the grown-ups too – the teachers and the parents, especially those who fought long and hard against the closures.

As the News said throughout the dispute, they were right to try to keep their local schools open – but the council was also right that in tough economic times efficiencies had to be sought for the greater good.

None of the four schools had more than 50 per cent occupancy. In Drumbrae's case only 59 pupils were left in its final week, despite a 306-pupil capacity.

When we visited the four primaries in their final hours we found adults and children who still took pride in their schools. Most encouragingly, we found a determination, too, to take a positive approach to being moved to a new school and new challenges.

The current administration says there will be no more closures, but that pledge may come under pressure as budgets shrink up to and after the 2012 local authority elections.

If further closures are ever threatened, parents could do worse than follow the model pursued at Fort, Burdiehouse, Drumbrae and Royston – first, of determined opposition, and, finally, of grace in defeat.

Bad medicine

THE fact that the bill for locum doctors hit 5 million in Lothian last year is worrying for all sorts of reasons.

Most obviously, it is a lot of money to be paying out for substitute medics at a time when the local health board is looking to axe 2,000 posts as part of a massive cost-cutting exercise.

Then there's the warning by a Scottish professor in this week's British Medical Journal that heavy reliance on locums in hospitals puts patient safety at risk. And, finally, when it comes to GPs there is the concern that the use of locums is just further disintegrating the traditional bond between a family doctor and his or her local community of patients.

All in all, time for a rethink.