At the time of its opening in 2016, the new Viewforth High School campus was the first of its kind in the region.
The Windmill Community Campus brought together Viewforth High, the additional needs school Rosslyn School, community sports facilities and the local library.
Just six years later, however, Scottish Government figures show Viewforth is already at 122% occupancy and it’s looking increasingly likely an extension will be needed.
But why is a school that’s been open less than decade already vastly oversubscribed and did the local authority foresee this issue prior to the new campus being built?
We’ve taken a look at the key issues facing the campus and the possible solutions that could be implemented to ease the overcrowding.
Pressure at both ends of the school
A report to Fife Council’s central and west planning committee last year outlined that the proposed housing developments in Viewforth’s catchment area will bring an extra 400 pupils to the school.
Among these developments is the Kingdom Park development where there will be more than 1,000 homes when completed.
And last December a presentation to the Viewforth parent council by education manager Jackie Funnell highlighted the school was facing pressure in the junior and senior phases.
Among the points raised were:
- An increase in the number of S1 pupils coming into the school through both
feeder primaries and placing requests - Senior pupils staying on to further their career prospects through educational and vocational course
- The roll has grown far quicker than was initially anticipated
A number of short term solutions were put forward to tackle the problem, including using different spaces within the school, coordinating the P7 to S1 enrolments, or capping the number of S1 pupils.
An updated presentation given to the parent council in June this year stated that whilst there is enough room at the school, “it is still extremely tight at present”.
There is, however, a sense of optimism with it being confirmed the primary roll across Fife and that of the Viewforth cluster is dropping – meaning the projected roll of P7s is lower for next year.
What if these short term solutions don’t work?
The current Viewforth building was built with the intention that it could be extended, and there is scope to accommodate the additional 400 places required.
No confirmation has been given by Fife Council on when or if this extension will be built but it said the situation is being monitored.
Head of education and children’s services, Shelagh McLean, said: “We continually monitor the capacity of our schools and work to manage the challenges that rising school rolls can bring from time to time.
The replacement Viewforth HS has been designed to allow for a future extension.”
Head of education and children’s services, Shelagh McLean
“Some flexibility is built into our modelling to help us manage pupil numbers, and in some settings we can reconfigure the existing space in schools to create additional classroom spaces.
“Where that’s not possible we may consider temporary modular accommodation or a permanent extension to the school building.
“The replacement Viewforth HS has been designed to allow for a future extension if/when this is required.
“We will continue to monitor the school roll on an ongoing basis.”
Conversation