By Gordon Berry

The two Liberal Democrat councillors representing Fife’s Tay bridgehead area said at the weekend they are “very disappointed” school roll projections rule out a new local secondary.

Maggie Taylor and Tim Brett, whose party last year described a new school as a “key priority” of the council’s SNP/Liberal Democrat coalition, said they had both wanted a school, and had campaigned for one for a number of years.

The pair have turned their fire on the previous Labour administration of the council, stating that when Lib Dems jointly formed the administration of Fife Council they expected to find detailed feasibility work and a completed option appraisal.

“We were surprised and disappointed that no work had been done on this, despite the report that went to committee in 2005 indicating the possibility of a new school in the Tay bridgehead area.

“A great deal of detailed work has been undertaken over the last six months to examine this option. Unfortunately the number of children does not justify two new secondary schools. Current primary school rolls give actual figures with a 20% fall between P1 and P7.

“Our figures have been fully tested and independently examined by staff outwith the education service. They include all proposed development in the area and we have used the higher range of development figures.

“Falling school rolls are not just affecting north-east Fife. Numbers in this part of Fife have been partly affected by the reduction in new houses following the council’s structure plan resubmission.”

The statement said people are having fewer children, and having them later in life, and projected pupil numbers had been discussed with new parent councils in the Tay bridgehead area and the parent council at Madras in St Andrews.

The councillors said they will meet any concerned parent but added it is significant that the major issue for parents is education quality.

“They felt that this was far more important than whether children would have to continue to travel to St Andrews.”

Councillor Taylor said her children had travelled from Tayport to Madras and parents who had spoken to her recently underlined that education was more important than the half- hour bus journey.

“I have also spoken to pupils, and I have revised my views about travel arrangements. It does not seem to be a major issue for them.”

Councillor Brett said a school with a roll below 800 pupils would make it very difficult to ensure a full range of subject options, particularly for pupils in S5 and S6.

“I know from my own children’s recent experience at Madras that this can be an issue. Two smaller schools would not have the range of sporting and extra-curricular facilities that now form an essential part of pupils’ learning,” he said.

The two referred to a “major issue” with parental choice— which they support—as many parents in the Tay bridgehead area may still decide to send their children to Madras, an established school with an excellent educational record.

“The views of the parent councils we have met have suggested that is the case.”

Turning to the roll of Bell Baxter in Cupar, which is bursting at the seams with 200-300 children in huts, the two councillors said a falling roll is projected.

“It has been suggested that north-east Fife should have four secondary schools with the pupils divided between them. We have looked in detail at this and apart from children in Balmullo who could look to a new school in the bridgehead area, most of the other Bell Baxter catchment is from Cupar itself or from villages to the west and south of Cupar,” they said.

The council’s administration wants to concentrate resources on a single-site Madras, where the councillors said there are excellent academic results, and youngsters perform at the highest levels in sport.

“However, Madras is the only secondary school in Scotland working with split-site arrangements and has accommodation described as unsuitable by the HMIe. The Lib Dem/SNP administration is committed to addressing this issue as urgently as possible...

“There are also possibilities of a partnership arrangement for a new school with the University of St Andrews, which is being explored as a matter of urgency.

“We repeat that we are very disappointed that we are not able to deliver a new secondary school in the Tay bridgehead area. But we have to face up to the facts that are in front of us.”