Trinity High School move to Erskine could mean loss of 'roots'

Relocating the campus to East Craigend or Barwood are two options under consideration by Renfrewshire Council as it progresses plans for a newbuild.

A third potential location is King George V (KGV) playing fields, while councillors have requested further detail on the possibility of using land at Netherton Avenue, with the feasibility of a joint campus in mind.

The shortlist will be taken forward to a full business case stage as part of the learning estate strategy after the step was agreed at the education and children’s services policy board on Thursday.

But the representative for the Diocese of Paisley expressed concern about the prospect of Trinity High being based in Erskine at some point in the future – if that was to materialise.

Jack Nellaney, who is also a former head teacher of the school, said at the meeting: “The worry that I have, right, and the worry in the sense is that if KGV proves not to be possible then you’ve removed a school from the heart of the community of Renfrew and taken it to Erskine, which does serve part of the catchment area, but it’s taken it largely from its roots.

“The worry in that would be that the sort of history and the culture and the tradition of Trinity might be lost along the way. I know that’s not what the council wants and it’s certainly not what I think the parents want as well.”

Mr Nellaney had also highlighted that “between 70 to 80 per cent” of the school roll comes from Renfrew and Gallowhill, meaning there would be a “practical issue” of decanting approximately 800 pupils to Erskine each day.

Another factor raised was the issue posed by adding another school, with a possible capacity of 1,400, to the same town as Park Mains High School which, once extended, will have a capacity of 2,000.

Gerard McLaughlin, head of education, acknowledged the points made and confirmed they would need to be addressed in the full business case.

He said: “You’re right with the here and now about the percentages of the children and young people who go to the particular school but what would that look [like] in five, ten, especially with the information we’ve got, 15 years time?

“The full business case would need to take on board about the transport and the problems there may or may not be for the children and young people in and around there, along with the sort of thing you’ve mentioned about the numbers in that particular area.

“But also, this is where the full business case would pick up about the heart of the school currently in the heart of the community, its roots there.

“All of these things would be captured, so that when we bring back all of the full business cases you would have that overview for the decisions to be made around next steps.”

Council officers will develop full business cases – covering a proposed redesign of the primary estate in Johnstone and options for Johnstone High School as well as those set out for Trinity High – and these are expected to be complete by early 2027.

At that point, councillors will be asked to agree on a single preferred option for each project. If approved, there would then be a formal consultation later that year.