Put brakes on school bus scheme

Councillor: Abandon plan

A Perthshire councillor has said potential plans to ferry Invergowrie pupils to Perth by bus, as part of a re-zoning proposal, should be “abandoned” due to the situation with the coronavirus.

It comes after the consultation period on the plans to realign the catchment areas of Harris Academy’s feeder schools, removing Invergowrie Primary as an associated school, ended on September 4 following a three-week extension due to the pandemic.

The consultation process had been due to last from February 10 to March 27 and was nearly finished, but schools were swiftly forced to shut with lockdown then imposed on March 23.

Parents, staff and pupils were invited to respond to the proposals by e-mail or in writing to allow a “comprehensive overview” of the proposals.

These responses will be considered by the council and then statements, questions and replies will be posted publicly each week on the consultation website.

Carse of Gowrie councillors and Invergowrie parents have long feared if the primary is cut as a feeder school it would damage the impact on the health and wellbeing of youngsters.

Those pupils would be forced on a 40-mile round trip to a Perth secondary school every school day.

Carse of Gowrie councillor Alasdair Bailey said: “I welcome Dundee City Council offering an additional three week window for comments.

“However, given we’re all being encouraged to stay closer to our homes due to the ongoing virus situation, this proposal which would see Invergowrie kids needing to spend two hours a day on a bus to get to/from school should be abandoned.

“As I pointed out in my previous submission in February, the proposal doesn’t even solve Dundee’s problem anyway - Harris Academy would again hit capacity in just a few more years’ time.”

Prior to the lockdown, Invergowrie pupils also handed over letters to education convener at Dundee City Council (DCC), Councillor Stewart Hunter, on March 10 at the Dundee council’s headquarters.

The letters are asking DCC to allow children from Invergowrie Primary to continue attending Harris Academy, as per the current catchment setup.

That same month John Swinney MSP suggested that creating a “bi-school” in eastern Perthshire could resolve the issue, labelling plans to cut the Perthshire primary from the Dundee secondary school’s catchment area as “flawed”.