On December 10th the NE Fife Area Planning Committee will consider the FINAL plans for the New Madras to be built at Pipelands. If approved, this will be the end of a long road towards starting the building of a new school.
What is at stake?
Two new secondary schools have recently been built in Fife in Dunfermline and Glenrothes. A September 2014 briefing note from Fife Council Education and Children’s Services shows exactly what a new school means. The facts are striking.
In Dunfermline (opened in 2012):
– S4 SQA exam results in both 2013 and 2014 were the best since 1972
– Results in both Highers and Advanced Highers showed “considerable improvement”.
– The 2013/2014 absence rate was 6.86% – the lowest of ALL Fife secondaries.
– “Discipline referrals” to senior staff have reduced by 50%. Pupil
exclusions continue to also reduce.
– “Pupil, parental and staff feedback on the new school is extremely
positive in terms of general ethos and atmosphere.”
– The numbers of pupils having their meals inside the school’s cafeteria areas (instead of local fast-food outlets) is now the highest of ALL Fife’s secondaries.
In Glenrothes (Auchmuty, opened 2013):
– S5 and S6 performances has “been the highest recorded in recent years.”
– Attendance has increased to 93.8% during last academic year.
– The exclusion rate has reduced year on year, now showing as halved.
– Pupils’ “perceptions, ambitions and image have improved”.
– The new, high tech equipment fitted in the school, allowed and inspired the first school show in many years to be staged within the high school.
– The number of concerts and talent shows has increased, allowing pupils to get involved and interact in such performances.
The briefing also notes that “the whole process of planning, building and occupying a new high school building has proven to bring, at every stage, learning opportunities for the pupils, and also brought inspiration to raise expectations, improve and achieve more.”
Recently, Madras College received a glowing report on the excellence of what Rector McClure, his staff and the pupils have achieved despite the appalling conditions at the existing school. If the improvements associated with new facilities elsewhere are delivered at Madras, your child could be attending one of the best schools in Scotland, if not the UK.
How you can help
It is time to give the staff and pupils the new school they so richly
deserve. That is what is at stake at the December 10th meeting, when local councillors consider the final plans for a new school.
Approval, however, is not guaranteed. Opponents to the new school have been bombarding Councillors. That is why, whether you have engaged with this campaign before or not, this is the time to give five minutes of your time to email the councillors who will be making this once-in-a-generation decision.
Please, please, email the councillors at the addresses below. Tell them where you live, and then politely point out to them that the plans are for a desperately needed new school for the 21st Century, that the excellence of the current leadership demands to be matched by excellent new facilities, that the community has again and again backed this new school whenever there has been a consultation. Ask them the question – in this age of budget squeeze, if not now, then when? Tell them about your children, and their hopes and aspirations for a new school. Ask them to make sure they attend the December 10th meeting, and ask them please to say yes to this new school.
You can also point out to the Councilors that the arguments made against this site turn out, on close inspection, to be either gross exaggerations or complete fabrications. The new school improves the overall traffic situation by taking vehicles away from the town centre and residential streets, it has no noticeable effect on the views from town or of the historical centre, and that rather than worsening the flooding situation, the new school at long last means that the drainage problems at the south side of the town will be addressed. Finally, the proximity to the hospital will provide opportunities for positive experiences for both pupils and patients.
You are not powerless – you have a voice in this process. The Councillors may not respond, but we know that they do read the messages you send.
Five minutes for your child’s future – it’s worth it
cllr.keith.mccartney@fife.gov.uk, cllr.frances.melville@fife.gov.uk, cllr.dorothea.morrison@fife.gov.uk, cllr.brian.thomson@fife.gov.uk, cllr.tim.brett@fife.gov.uk, cllr.bill.connor@fife.gov.uk, cllr.margaret.taylor@fife.gov.uk, cllr.john.docherty@fife.gov.uk, cllr.donald.macgregor@fife.gov.uk, cllr.elizabeth.riches@fife.gov.uk, cllr.andy.heer@fife.gov.uk, cllr.donald.lothian@fife.gov.uk, cllr.david.macdiarmid@fife.gov.uk, cllr.margaret.kennedy@fife.gov.uk, cllr.karen.marjoram@fife.gov.uk, Cllr.bryan.poole@fife.gov.uk
Check out these incredible stats from the new Auchmuty school… Improvements in almost all areas – record attendance, the number of S5 pupils with more than 5 highers doubling, number of S6 pupils leaving with at least 1 Advanced highers has nearly doubled.
Parent voice 