'Closure will break up our community' say parents

Published 21 Oct 2009 14:24 2 Comments

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PARENTS in Renfrew are being urged to attend consultations about the proposed changes to the primary schools in the town.

One of the plans is to shut Moorpark Primary school and moved the children into Newmains or Kirklandneuk schools.

However parents from the Moorpark area are fighting the decision and have come up with an idea of a joint campus with St James' Primary School which neighbours the Moorpark school.

Mum Catrina Henry is heading up the steering group. She said: "The Moorpark building is dilapidated as we know, as is St James'. Instead of decanting the Moorpark pupils to Newmains or Kirklandneuk, where you are going to split up that wee community they have already built up in there for themselves, why cant we just have the joint campus? Then everyone is still in the same place, with their friends, and there is less distribution for the kids."

Catrina, who has two daughters in the school and one daughter in the nursery, is urging people to attend the consultations at the end of the month.

She added: "Come along and give your opinions - stand up for what you believe in.

"Let the council see that we don't want to lose the community that we've got within Moorpark Primary. Not only do the pupils have a community but I'm new to Renfrew and this school and this nursery has got me a massive community of friends as well and if I didn't have that and the people from Moorpark then I would be one lonely, lonely lady."

Along with the petition, the steering group are lettering parents in Kirklandneuk, Newmains and St James's primaries to explain what a joint campus means.

Councillor Mary Fee, is supporting the group and their campaign, she said: "The shared campus is a viable option. The funding is there and it is a viable option to build a shared campus here and it would be two separate schools under one roof, if you like, and it would preserve both communities."

Fellow councillor, Eddie Grady, agreed saying: "I think the joint campus is definitely do-able and is the best option to keep everyone happy and to keep the community of Moorpark."

Primary six pupil Jordan is unhappy that her school is going to close.

She said: "It sucks. I've been here for six years and I don't find it fair for the primary ones they have just moved in and now they need to move to a different school.

"I don't see why the school should close."

The Gazette met up with some of the concerned parents and councillors as they unveiled the new poster that some of the children had made. The consultations will start with Moorpark Primary School on Wednesday October 28 and the following evening the consultation will turn to St James' Primary School.

On Monday, November 2 the council will meet with Kirklandneuk Primary School for their consultations and then with Newmains Primary School on Thursday, November 5. All consultations will start at 7pm.

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: "We look forward to the consultation meeting and hearing the views of parents and also explaining the reasoning behind the council's proposed investment in Renfrew schools. There are a couple of reasons why we didn't recommend a shared campus. Normally a shared campus has two schools of comparable size or at most one would be twice the size of the other. In this case, one school would be three or even four times bigger. Also, we have to look at the funding which is likely to be available to the council in these difficult economic times.

"The current Moorpark Primary pupils can be accommodated in Kirklandneuk and Newmains Primaries. Adding an extra school into a shared campus proposal would clearly require significant additional spending when there is serious pressure on the council's available funding."

This article appeared in The Gazette 21 Oct 09

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Fed up council tax payer
Unregistered User
Oct 21, 18:35
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Are the council going to provide transport for children being decanted into Newmains? The current proposal has Kirklandneuk primary receiving a massive upgrade, will the other Primary schools also receive benefits? Again Ainsley Sq has a large amount of family housing, where will these children be placed? Kirklandneuk already receives more funding than Newmains primary. A shared campus makes sense, the current council have no interest in providing good educational facilities for our children. First south primary then the pre5 shake up and now the closure of an iconic school, the oldest in our town. There is no proposal, this has already been decided. The meetings are a waste of everyone time. So much for the SNP class size promise.

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louise M
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Dec 29, 20:18
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its so not fair big deal there is leaks but they can get fixed and and they can paint the walles my friend amanda is bloobdy fighting to keep the best school in the world OPEN!!!!!.

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