Warning of rise in sectarianism as school plan's opponents stage protest

PARENTS and pupils are staging a protest over plans to swap their school building with an over- subscribed Catholic primary amid fears the move will lead to sectarianism.

Broomhouse Primary campaigners will be out in force on Monday morning to display their anger at the proposals to switch their building with St Joseph's RC Primary next door.

Some parents have already threatened to remove their children from Broomhouse if the move gets approval from councillors next week, while there are fears that the current good relationship between the two schools on the shared campus will be destroyed if the swap is forced upon them.

Council chiefs are considering the move because a falling school roll means Broomhouse Primary now only teaches about a third of the pupils that it could accommodate, while St Joseph's is bursting at the seams and has been forced to prioritise baptised Catholics.

An influx of Eastern European children and growing demand for places from non-Catholic families has seen pupil numbers double at St Joseph's.

However, Broomhouse Primary's parent body says the move will be disruptive for all children and lead to bad blood between the schools.

Carol Munro, chairwoman of the Broomhouse parent council, said: "Everybody in the community thought it was a great idea when the schools joined together in 2002 because many years ago there were fights between the two schools on a regular basis.

"There was tension between the children and when this proposal came up for a joint campus, we jumped on it to start building bridges and stop the segregation and sectarianism.

"At the end of the day, whether you're Catholic, Hindu, Protestant, it doesn't matter, we should be working together.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is only promoting sectarianism and racism.

"People start finger-pointing and we don't want that to happen."

Mrs Munro added the parent council will put forward an alternative option to the education committee next week when it meets to decide whether the school switch should go ahead.

She said: "There is regeneration going on in Sighthill, with more family houses being built there, so where do their children go if they don't want to go to a Roman Catholic school?

"And what happens if St Joseph's roll falls and it rises in Broomhouse – do we swap again? The council has to draw a line.

"We are putting forward an option which would keep everybody where they are. We have an infant wing at the back of the school which we could split in half to give St Joseph's an extra three or four classrooms and we believe that would be the best option for everyone."

City education leader Marilyne MacLaren has hit back at any suggestions that the move will lead to sectarianism.

She said: "The two schools have co-existed on a shared campus for eight years and worked closely together within the local community for years before that.

"We strongly refute the suggestion that swapping the buildings will cause sectarianism or racism.

"We are simply making best use of the buildings that the two schools currently share."