Kids’ travel data sparks school call
FOI reveals 500 pupils go out of town for education Findout howto become afriend
A Stonehouse councillor has called for a high school to be built in the town.
Councillor Graeme Campbell spoke out after a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Stonehouse Community Council revealed that around 500 students from Stonehouse must travel outwith the town to attend secondary school.
In the current 2017/18 session, 320 Stonehouse pupils attend Larkhall Academy. Twenty travel to Holy Cross High in Hamilton, 160 are enrolled at Strathaven Academy, and under five pupils are recorded as attending Lesmahagow High.
Councillor Campbell posted on his Facebook page: “Five hundred secondary school students in Stonehouse have no option but to travel by bus or car to and from the village each day to school, and I think that is very sad.
“I want to see a massive scale development in Stonehouse over the next 10 years, which could in turn deliver the village its first secondary school, better retail, the completion to the bypass, leisure facilities, etc. But right now South Lanarkshire Council will not support this.
“I fear it will leave the village struggling for at least another decade with no investment.”
Councillor Campbell also posted about the capacities and catchment areas of the town’s primary schools.
He later told the Advertiser: “I’ve been working with SLC Education to change the school catchment area in Stonehouse to enable pupils from the new Barrett development on Strathaven Road to be placed into the Newfield Primary School catchment area.
“There is nothing sinister here; all we are doing is making changes to historic boundaries, taking into consideration new housing developments in the village.”
South Lanarkshire Council said it currently had no plans to change the primary school catchment areas, or build a high school.
Lynn Sherry, Head of Education said: “School catchment areas are occasionally reviewed in light of factors including local development. We are not currently involved in a review of catchment areas in the Stonehouse area.
“We can confirm that there are no plans for a secondary school to be built in the Stonehouse.” A Dementia Friends Afternoon will be held in Stonehouse next week.
The event aims to offer information on how people can become Dementia Friends, and make Stonehouse a Dementia Friends Village.
Dementia Friends Scotland is an Alzheimer Scotland initiative which works to raise awareness of dementia and reduce the stigma.
The meeting will be facilitated by an Alzheimer Scotland dementia advisor.
It will be held at the Lifestyles centre on Wednesday, March 7, from 2pm. Refreshments will be available.
For more information or to book a place, call 01698 884537 or email stonehousejubclub@gmail. com