Proposals for new community campus in Monifieth revealed.

Monifieth: Councillors outline options for future of education in town and district

A multi-million-pound community campus has emerged as one of the options under proposals for education in the Monifieth area.

In the latest stage of a district-wide Schools for the Future plan announced earlier this year, Monifieth High and its cluster primaries will become the subject of community consultation after officials revealed the status quo is not an option.

On Thursday, a children and learning committee will consider a report highlighting rolls at Monifieth High and Mattocks Primary are set to go beyond capacity within the next five years and a low C-category suitability rating for the secondary.

Strategic director, Mark Armstrong, said the combination of capacity, maintenance and catchment factors mean doing nothing is not viable, but the council has admitted Holyrood help will be needed to fund any new schools and so far no cash promises have been made.

The options the authority intends to consult on include reviewing the Monifieth High catchment area, which might result in a more even distribution of pupils; extend Monifieth High and Mattocks Primary and refurbish Grange and Liff primaries; replace Monifieth High and Grange Primary with an “allthrough” school; create an all-through community campus with additional facilities beyond the replacement of Monifieth High and Grange Primary; refurbish and increase capacity at Mattocks and Liff primaries and develop an all-through school to accommodate Monifieth High and Grange Primary; and develop Monifieth High to include community facilities, but with no primary element.

Officials have also said creating a new school in Birkhill to incorporate Auchterhouse, Liff, Strathmartine and Birkhill primaries is not worth considering

The director’s report continues: “A secondary school of 300 pupils would not be large enough to deliver a full curriculum through broad general education to the senior phase.

“In order to have a secondary school that could deliver a full curriculum it would need to be shared with both Dundee City Council and Perth and Kinross Council.

“We have been in contact with neighbouring authorities, and this option is not considered viable at this point as this is not a shared priority for all three councils.”

Mr Armstrong added: “A project of the scale of replacing Monifieth High or an all-through campus will require funding support from the Scottish Government’s Schools for the Future programme.”

Since 2016 Angus Council has created new community campuses in Brechin and Forfar at a combined cost of more than £60 million.

gbrown@thecourier.co.uk

A project of the scale of replacing Monifieth High or an all-through campus will require funding support from the Scottish Government’s Schools for the Future programme. MARK ARMSTRONG