My 45min bike trip from class to class Teen has to cycle between schools to study Highers

08.11.2018 The dad of a Paisley teen biking between schools to complete his studies has hit out at the council for refusing to fund taxi transport.

Cameron Barclay, 17, cycles for 45 minutes from class to class because no school in the area offers all three of his chosen Advanced Highers.

The sixth-year Paisley Grammar pupil travels between his own school, St Andrew’s Academy and Johnstone High School to study Physics, Chemistry and Graphic Design.

And the teenager’s dad David has been left fuming, after the council refused to fork out for a taxi for his son.

He said: “From the start, we were aware that there would be a requirement for Cameron to travel to one or more schools within the consortium area in order to undertake studies in his chosen subjects.

“We were not prepared for the situation that we are now in whereby Cameron is required to travel, in his case cycle, out to another consortium area in order to attend studies in Advance Higher Chemistry.

“F u r t h e r, a n d m o re importantly, we were not been prepared for the schools’ approach and unwillingness to resolve this unacceptable situation.

“Acknowledging that this is an extremely important and challenging year in his studies, we did not expect there to be additional difficulties and unreasonable travel requirements which are clearly proving to be an unwanted and unrequired distraction.”

Renfrewshire Council already offers a taxi service to a number of pupils across the local authority.

A Freedom Of Information request revealed the council spends £ 3,000 a week on taxi services for pupils.

However, the local authority said this is only provided “if there is no public transport available or the commute impacts upon their study time”.

A spokeswoman said: “Any pupil travelling to another school as part of their advanced higher studies should travel by public transport wherever possible and are reimbursed for the cost of the journey.

“Alternative transport is provided if there is no public transport available or the commute impacts upon their study time.

“In this case, the pupil is studying three advanced highers and travels to a partner school one mile away and to another seven miles away, which is easily accessible by public transport and with at least one hour and thirty minutes between classes.

“The travel involved and transport arrangements were outlined to the pupil and parents at the time the subjects were chosen.”

Maurice Golden MSP has raised Cameron’s case during First Minister’s Questions.

He said: “These aren’t weird and wonderful subjects, they’re exactly the sort of STEM subjects that we need pupils to study.”

The Conservative politician has since said the council’s decision “beggars belief”.

He added: “The case of Cameron Barclay and the impact this travelling is having on his studies is clear for all to see, yet Renfrewshire Council won’t budge.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “Some schools in different clusters will provide different qualifications and young people will go to different schools to access them.

“The principle here is that we want to ensure that young people get access to as broad a range of qualifications as it is possible to do.”