Youngsters living in a Perthshire village will drive past a state of the art new secondary school as they have been excluded from the catchment area.
Pupils from Luncarty will continue to attend Perth Grammar School when the £32.5 million Bertha Park building opens next year, despite passing the new school on their way into the city.
The village has not been included in the catchment area for the school, the first new secondary to be built in Scotland since 1995, despite some areas further away from the development being included.
George Black, chairman of Luncarty, Redgorton and Moneydie Community Council is expecting a backlash from parents when Bertha Park opens.
“The new school is basically right across the A9 flyover from Luncarty but it hasn’t been included in the catchment area,” he said.
“The kids from here will still go to the grammar school, even though they will be driving past the new one.
“We haven’t had too many complaints yet but I think we will get a lot more once the school opens — I don’t think everybody realises yet.”
Bertha Park school overlooks part of a £1 billion housing estate of the same name. The 3,000-home development is the biggest expansion of the Fair City in more than a generation.
Mr Black acknowledged that the 1,100-capacity school is being built to serve pupils living in the massive new development, but pointed out that if pupils living north of Perth attended Bertha Park it would alleviate traffic on the congested Inveralmond Roundabout.
“It may be forward thinking because the school is being built for the new housing development but other areas near here have been included so I don’t know why Luncarty would be excluded,” he said.
“I’ve noticed there is much less traffic at Inveralmond during the school holidays so a lot of it must be parents taking their kids to school.
“It’s fine during the school holidays but a nightmare when the schools are on so most of that problem would be taken away if all the kids in this area went to Bertha Park.”
Bertha Park’s catchment area include new developments at Bertha Park, Almond Valley and Perth West, as well as the pupils of Auchtergaven,Logiealmond, Methven, Pitcairn, Ruthvenfield and Oudenarde schools, currently served by Perth Grammar School and Perth Academy.
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesman confirmed that Luncarty has not been included.
He said: “This decision was taken by councillors at a meeting of the full council on May 7, 2014, where various options were considered.
“Parents who would rather their child be placed in a school other than their local catchment area school can make a placement request by contacting their local school or the council’s education and children’s services.”
