Pupil numbers at Kilcreggan primary and Parklands School are still rising faster than anywhere else in the area, new figures have revealed.
Statistics produced by Argyll and Bute Council show that Kilcreggan’s school, where the number of teachers was cut to just four last year, now has 89 pupils.
That represents an increase of more than 23% over the last five years, but when justifying the staff cuts in 2015 Argyll and Bute Council said: “Teacher allocations are based on pupil rolls, using an agreed staffing formula.
“It is helpful to note that pupil numbers can fluctuate from year to year and this may have an impact on the staffing allocation for individual schools.”
Last year worried parents contacted MSP Jackie Baillie, who lobbied the then Education Secretary Angela Constance on the issue, but the council refused to change its stance which saw pupils from three different year groups in the same composite class.
The same council statistics show that the number of pupils at Parklands in Helensburgh has more than doubled since 2011-12, and there are now 20 children at the school for children with complex special educational needs.
Both Kilcreggan and Parklands were among 26 schools targeted for closure by the council five years ago; Cleland Sneddon, the official behind the abortive closure plans, has since been promoted to the £118,000 post of chief executive.
In the schools ‘cluster’ for the Helensburgh and Lomond area the total number of primary school pupils has fallen by 0.9% in the last five years.
The full report is here: Primary Schools – Performance and Attainment
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