Army fights to resolve battle over Ciara's fees

Ciara McGearey, 13, was told by city chiefs that they would not pay for her to go to the Royal Blind School, despite an independent tribunal ruling that is the best option for her.

But it is understood that the army has stepped in to offer to pay half of Ciara's 38,000-a-year school fees, if the city council funds the other half.

Both parties have confirmed that talks are ongoing and Ciara's parents said that an agreement is expected to be reached "in the near future".

The teenager, who lost her sight when she was only three days old after contracting meningitis, is currently attending the Blind School after father Mac, a serving soldier with the 1st Royal Tank Regiment, raised enough money to send her there until the summer.

Warrant Officer Class 1 McGearey completed a 500-mile sponsored walk across Scotland to raise the money to pay for the school fees for at least the first term while he and his wife Rosie continued to battle with the council over its decision to refuse to pay the fees.

A tribunal ruled in November that the Blind School was the best option for Ciara, but council bosses planned to appeal against the decision by taking the case to the Court of Session.

The Evening News previously revealed that the cost to the taxpayer of appealing against the decision to send Ciara to the Blind School would run to almost 20,000 – the same amount it would cost to pay her fees for half a year.

It is understood that the discussions with the army would put an end to the need to take the case to court. An army spokeswoman said: "The army and Edinburgh City Council had a very productive meeting (yesterday] and we can confirm that an agreement in principle, between Edinburgh (council] and the army in Scotland, is currently being worked on.

"The legalities of the situation are currently not finalised in detail and, until then, it would not be appropriate to comment further."

A spokeswoman for the city council added: "We are currently in discussions with the parents and the Ministry of Defence and hope to reach an agreement in the near future."