Minister does not know her brief

Sir, – It is extremely worrying that our education secretary seems to know so little about her brief.

She claims large schools are damaging the education of our children.

The economies of scale, not just in financial terms but also in the area of curriculum planning, are major benefits.

The cost per pupil is lower in large schools.

If you compare the model in Fife with a small geographical area and large high schools and the necessity of Highland Council with their need to have a considerable number of small high schools because of the geography, the difference in costs both fixed and variable are huge.

It means more of the education budget can be spent on materials and teachers.

The cost to run an S1 English class of 30 pupils is much cheaper in terms of pupil costs than an Advanced Higher class in chemistry with three pupils.

As a result of this financial reality, many classes in the S5/6 stage of schooling are not viable and cut from the curriculum much more often in smaller schools than in larger ones where, if I continue with my example, it is more likely you have 10 or more pupils wishing to study Advanced Higher chemistry.

Pupils in Fife benefit greatly from the larger than average secondary schools. If Jenny Gilruth would staff our schools adequately, particularly in the area of additional support needs (where there have been huge staffing cuts), then we might not have the “lost” children she claims.

The education of our children is far too important to be left in the hands of someone who, despite having been a teacher, knows so little.

David A Mackenzie. Kinross.