City high school merger plans still on the table

Consultations with Dundee parents on £60m proposals hit by Covid-19

Controversial plans to merge two Dundee secondary schools are still on the table despite consultations being halted due the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, Dundee City Council outlined proposals that, if approved, would see Braeview Academy and Craigie High School shut and merge on a new campus on the site of the former St Saviour’s High School.

A new £60 million school would be built on the site, which lies south of Drumgeith Road, with capacity for around 1,800 pupils.

As of September 2019, Braeview Academy and Craigie High have school rolls of 592 and 628 pupils respectively.

Consultations with parents, staff and pupils regarding the proposed merger had begun in February and were due to be completed by the end of March.

The children and families services committee was due to consider the plans at a meeting on June 22 but the coronavirus pandemic led to the consultations being halted indefinitely.

Councillor Stewart Hunter, who is the children and families convener, said the community would get to have their say when restrictions are eased further.

He said: “Once it is safe to do so, we will resume the consultations and bring a report back to a committee.”

Speaking about the proposals at the time they were unveiled, Mr Hunter had argued that the “education of pupils would benefit from advantages of scale that the current schools cannot offer”.

The plans had sparked criticism from opposition councillors when they were announced, with Labour councillor Michael Marra labelling the move “totally unacceptable” and suggesting it was a cost-saving exercise.

Also included in the proposals are plans to expand the catchment area for Grove Academy in Broughty Ferry from August 2024.

This would see all pupils who are living in the current Craigiebarns Primary School catchment area and transitioning from primary to secondary school go to Grove, unless they chose to make a request for elsewhere.

Ferry councillor Craig Duncan welcomed the news consultations on the proposals would resume, saying it was the “right thing to do”.

The Lib Dem councillor also acknowledged there may be changes to the proposed construction date due to ongoing disruption caused by Covid-19.

Currently, 40% of secondary schoolaged pupils in the Craigiebarns Primary School area attend Grove Academy.

The school has a roll of 1,259 pupils, which is expected to rise by approximately 6% in the 2024-25 academic year if the proposals are given the green light.

Craigie High would merge with Braeview Academy under the proposals.