Councillor raises concerns ahead of schools catchment review

Councillors will be asked to support plans to rezone four secondary school catchment areas in Dunfermline and west Fife today – although the proposals have already caused concern.

Fife’s education and children’s services committee will discuss the catchment review for Dunfermline, Inverkeithing, Queen Anne and Woodmill High Schools, and have been asked to give officers the green light to proceed with statutory public consultation.

That consultation will take place between August 17 and September 29 and will give parents, carers and other stakeholders the chance to have their say on the proposals tabled.

However, Dunfermline South councillor James Calder has highlighted his fears about the impact of the plans in their current form, citing one proposal that would see children in the Masterton Primary catchment area moved to Inverkeithing High, rather than go to school in Dunfermline.

Mr Calder said: “Parents and children will rightly be concerned at the proposals.

“In particular I am worried that children in Masterton aren’t getting to go to their local high school and are being bussed out of town.”

He continued: “We should be seeking to ensure children can go to their local high school.

“We can surely do better and ensure that all children in Dunfermline can go to school in Dunfermline.”

The changes have come forward as a result of capacity issues in the area, with the projected school roll of Woodmill High – for example – expected to exceed capacity by August 2018.