Agenda item

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

The Convener declared an interest in the following article and advised that he knew Mr. Forsyth who was representing Torry Academy Parent Council.  Councillor Kevin Stewart declared a personal interest in the following items due to a family member attending Northfield Academy.  Councillor Yuill declared an interest in the following articles as family members attended Broomhill School and Harlaw Academy.  He also declared an interest as a Council appointed Governor of Robert Gordon’s College.  Councillor Jennifer Stewart declared a personal interest due to a family member attending Aberdeen Grammar School.  Councillor John West also declared an interest as two family members attended Aberdeen Grammar School.  None of the Councillors mentioned above considered it necessary to withdraw from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business.

The Committee heard from Mr. Stephen Hadden, on behalf of Hazlehead Academy Parent Council.  Mr. Hadden advised that the school had made a great deal of progress over the past eighteen months, and requested that the Committee allow Hazlehead a period of stability to maintain the good progress which had been made.  He noted that the report mentioned the financial and property implications of the proposals, but stressed the need to also consider the pupils, staff and parents who would be affected.  He advised that the Head Teacher, Alison Murison, had been in post for eighteen months, and during that time had worked hard to improve the ethos in the school.  Standard Grade and Intermediate 1 and 2 results had risen and work was ongoing on the roll-out of the Curriculum for Excellence and the school’s behaviour management plan.  Mr. Hadden advised that HMIe had undertaken an inspection of the school in March, 2010 and that the results had been positive, particularly in relation to support for learning and extra curricular activities.  While the inspectors had noted that the management of pupil behaviour needed some improvement, they had felt that with support from the Education Authority there would be an improvement in this area, and no further visits would be necessary.  Mr. Hadden noted that the stakeholder event in Hazlehead had the second largest attendance of all the events and felt that this demonstrated the concern of parents at the proposals.  He felt that the proposals would risk the improvement shown by the school and would demoralise staff.  Mr. Hadden noted that the proposals needed to outline the operating costs of a new school and the source of funding for any new build.  He welcomed the proposal to close the attainment gap in Aberdeen but stated that it would require the support of parents as well as motivated staff.  Mr. Hadden finished by stressing that the proposal should not create an educationally divided city, with schools of excellence in some areas but not others.

There being no questions from the Committee, the Convener thanked Mr. Hadden for his presentation. 

The Committee then heard from Mr. Gary Forsyth, on behalf of Torry Academy Parent Council.  He advised that the perception in Torry was that the options before Committee for approval had been cherry-picked to favour those which supported the proposal and noted his disappointment that they appeared to be financially rather than educationally motivated.  Mr. Forsyth advised that the savings in the report needed to be off-set against the staffing and potential severance costs of moving to a single management structure for Torry and Kincorth Academies.  He noted that Torry had already been affected by the closure of Victoria Road School and that there was the potential for the children affected by that closure to have to attend four different schools over their education career if the report proposals were approved by Committee.  He advised that a meeting had been held between Torry Community Council, Kincorth and Leggart Community Council and Cove and Altens Community Council, at which there had been unanimous opposition to Torry and Kincorth Academies operating out of a split site.  He requested that the Committee disregard the recommendation for a split site and management structure and allow the two schools to remain operational until a new school could be built.  Mr. Forsyth advised the Committee that the school had an additional allowance of teaching staff for pupils with special needs and also had many pupils for whom English was a second language.  He noted that the school was no more expensive to run than any of the other academies.  He concluded by requesting that the Committee amend recommendation (e) in the report to consult on a new school for Torry and Kincorth, and to also consider providing individual schools for both areas.

The Committee asked several questions of Mr. Forsyth and the officers from Education, Culture and Sport.  The Convener thanked Mr. Forsyth for his presentation. 

At this juncture the Convener advised that Torry Community Council had withdrawn its request for a deputation but had instead provided a written submission which was circulated to the Committee for information.  The letter outlined the meeting of the Community Councils previously referred to by Mr. Forsyth and advised that the members present had been totally opposed to recommendation 2(d) in the report and considered that Torry Academy and Kincorth Academy should continue to operate as individual schools, with separate zones and management structures.  With regard to recommendation 2(e) in the report, the letter advised that the meeting had indicated that there was a desire for a new school to be built in the south of the city, however, there was considerable sensitivity about where this new school would be built with each community commenting that they would like it to be in their area.  

The Committee then heard from Mr. Neil Stewart and Mr. Andy Finlayson, who were representing Cove and Altens Community Council.  Mr. Stewart also highlighted the Community Council meeting mentioned by Mr. Forsyth in the previous deputation, and agreed that Torry and Kincorth Academies should remain as they were until a new school was in place, but stressed that whatever the outcome in relation to the schools, Cove would require a new school to be built.  He advised that two-thirds of children at Kincorth Academy were from Cove, and that when the Cove community was asked what they would like to see in their area, a new secondary school was always at the top of the list.  Mr. Stewart highlighted the transport problems currently faced by pupils at Cove and the lack of facilities in the area, and asked that the Committee did not split up the community.  Mr. Finlayson advised that Cove had areas of deprivation and that an academy in the area would be a great asset.

The Committee asked questions of the deputation and the Convener thanked Mr. Stewart and Mr. Finlayson for their presentation. 

The Committee then heard from Mr. Alasdair Stevenson and Mr. Neill Renton, on behalf of Aberdeen Grammar School Parent Council.  Mr. Stevenson advised the Committee that the Parent Council was concerned about the recommendation to re-zone the catchment area for Aberdeen Grammar School.  He stated that the school had the lowest cost per pupil in the city and that the school’s occupancy rate was very high.  He noted that the school had high academic standards and was ranked among the best schools in Scotland.  Mr. Stevenson advised that the existing diverse catchment area contributed to the ethos of the school, and that over 25% of pupils at Aberdeen Grammar School lived outwith the catchment area.  Any alteration to the catchment area would also require a resource to manage the change.  Mr. Renton advised that parents were keen to ensure that an area previously zoned to Aberdeen Grammar School would not be re-zoned to another school if there was a change to the catchment areas.  He proposed that the cap on the school roll could be raised and highlighted the statement in the report that additional accommodation might be required at Aberdeen Grammar School.  In connection with this, Mr. Renton suggested that the Council could investigate using the old junior school building, currently occupied by the Total French School.  He concluded by advising that the Parent Council were ready to work with Aberdeen City Council to find the best way forward. 

The Committee asked several questions of the deputation and of Education, Culture and Sport officers.  During the discussion that followed, members requested that officers investigate whether the former junior school referred to in the deputation could potentially be used as additional accommodation for Aberdeen Grammar School.  Following investigation, it was noted that the current lease did not expire until 2014.  The Convener thanked Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Renton for their presentation. 

The Committee then heard from Mr. Donald Elliot, Mr. John Anderson and Dr. Neil Hamilton, on behalf of Ashley Road Parent Council.  Mr. Elliot noted that the Parent Council had consulted on the proposals in the report and advised that parents had concerns in relation to the future outcomes for those children currently in nursery and primary education.  They felt that there should be a commitment to provide local schools for local pupils.  Mr. Elliot advised that the Parent Council had undertaken a survey and that 97% of parents surveyed wished to maintain the link with Aberdeen Grammar School.  He highlighted the links between Aberdeen Grammar and Ashley Road schools noting that many children had older siblings or friends who attended Aberdeen Grammar, and who expected to attend that school upon reaching secondary school age.

There being no questions from the Committee, the Convener thanked the deputation for their presentation. 

The Committee heard from Mr. Thomas Mackintosh and Ms. Bryony Hart, Head Boy and Head Girl of Harlaw Academy.  Ms. Hart noted that legislation required that there were educational reasons behind school mergers and closures, and stressed that, in her view, there was no educational reason to close Harlaw Academy.  Mr. Mackintosh highlighted that the majority of responses to the stakeholder engagement process were submitted by parents of children at Harlaw Academy, which highlighted the level of concern at the proposals.  Ms. Hart informed the Committee of the work of the MICAS base at Harlaw and the loss to pupils if this was to close.  She noted that the report had mentioned that the layout of the school caused difficulties to those with disabilities, but highlighted the case of one disabled pupil in particular who had never experienced any difficulties while attending the school.  Mr. Mackintosh mentioned another pupil with dyslexia who felt he had achieved great results through the support of the staff at the school.  Ms. Hart noted that she did not feel that the layout of the school affected learning, as was stated in the report, and that the location of the playing fields was not an issue for most pupils.  She stated that the new 3Rs school would require to be rebuilt before granite schools such as Harlaw.  Mr. Mackintosh compared the costs of each academy and noted that the city centre schools were cheaper to run than others.  They highlighted the extensive extra curricular activities at Harlaw and commended teachers at the school for giving up their free time to assist pupils.  They felt there was a unique bond between staff and pupils at the school, and that the Primary 7 to S1 transition was second to none.  They concluded by stating that the closure of Harlaw Academy would leave a hole in the city.

The Committee asked questions of Mr. Mackintosh and Ms. Hart and the Convener thanked them for their deputation. 

Finally, the Committee heard from Mr. Keith Paterson, Mr. Jim Wiseman and Ms. Hannah Wright on behalf of Northfield Academy Parent Council.  Mr. Paterson stated that the Parent Council felt that it had been misled during the stakeholder engagement process, and had been led to believe that Northfield Academy was not under threat of closure.  He advised the Committee that the attainment at Northfield was improving.  The school had good links with the business world and pupils made significant contributions to the community.  There had been real achievements in further education and many pupils had also received awards.  The Parent Council felt that the school was progressing well.  Mr. Paterson noted that there were pockets of deprivation in Northfield but that there was a real sense of community in the area and Northfield Academy fought hard to give its pupils a real learning experience.  He felt that it was contradictory to close a school where the focus was on improving and closing the gap in attainment.

Mr. Wiseman noted that the proposals had impacted on staff morale, with many staff believing that the proposals were a “done deal”.  He highlighted the concern at the disruption to pupils, as well as the potential cost for parents if pupils were moved to Hazlehead Academy.  He advised that there was no direct bus route from Northfield to Hazlehead and that the additional travel would add to the length of the school day, could potentially increase truancy levels and could cost parents up to £20 in fares per week.  He also noted that the music service had recently moved from Summerhill to Northfield Academy and that the closure of the school would mean another facility taken away from the area. 

Ms. Wright advised the Committee that she currently attended Northfield Academy.  She reiterated the cost of transport to Hazlehead Academy, and noted that many parents would be unable to afford the extra cost.  While many pupils had been considering staying on at school to take their Higher exams, Ms. Wright advised that if the proposals were approved, many would leave school or go to college instead as their parents would simply be unable to pay the transport costs.  She highlighted the extra curricular activities at Northfield Academy and explained to the Committee that the behaviour at the school had improved.  She stressed that pupils wanted Northfield Academy to remain open. 

The Committee asked several questions of the deputation and the Convener thanked them for their presentation.