There’s no need for all this moaning

Mar 6 2008

I have watched with interest the story where Uddingston parents claim decant arrangements are “shambolic” after St John the Baptist pupils moved to their temporary home in Hamilton’s Hope Street annexe.

My children have just completed 18 months at the Hope Street annexe while their new school, St John’s in Dixon Street, was being built.

What a terrible time it must be for the kids who have been decanted from John the Baptist Primary in Uddingston. I feel really sorry for them, having to be shunted around miles away from their own school and homes. It must be a really traumatic time for them.

But I can’t believe the amount of whinging and extraordinary demands being made from the parents — demands for everything from CCTV for the whole of the Orchard Street/Hope Street area; closing off parts of Union Street to allow coaches to stop; extra wardens. I even heard they wanted the Hope Street annexe to be refurbished for them.

Yes, in an ideal world we would all want this. After all, the safety and wellbeing of our children is paramount. But hang on... did I miss something?

Instead of them moaning and making outlandish demands why didn’t the parents refuse point-blank to allow to their children to be put in this crazy position in the first place? I wouldn’t want my kids to be put in this position; I would have been down at the council HQ with my banner, kicking up a fuss and asking that the children be relocated as close to their own school as possible. In my opinion, they let South Lanarkshire Council education chief Larry Forde off lightly.

I would just like to point out that while St John's Hamilton pupils were using the Hope Street annexe, no extra services were laid on. The children did not get dressed up in hi-viz jackets and parade up and down the street and no children were seriously injured going to and from school.

What did happen was that everyone just got on with it, without moaning and demanding for this and that.

The teaching staff and parents of St John the Baptist should take a leaf out of the book of Mrs Duffin, head teacher St John’s Hamilton. She had everyone organised and everything ran like clockwork. She even took on the role of traffic warden.

Yes, I am doing my bit of moaning. After all, I thought it would be great to get my kids round to their new school in Dixon Street. But the traffic is shocking, with all the coaches and cars parked up from Uddingston.

Hurry up, South Lanarkshire Council, and get their school ready. And a note to the parents from Uddingston: enjoy your stay in Hamilton.

Hamilton parent.