Penalised again because we're not a posh school

May 1 2008

IN light of stories about the cost of decant transport for schools (Advertiser, April 17), I would like to enlighten readers to the whole story of the saga of Laighstonehall schools.

Unlike St John the Baptist parents (who are obviously more powerful than us in Laighstonehall), we had no consultation or explanations as to why other schools have been using accommodation at St Peter’s while their own primaries were being modernised.

St Peter’s Primary did not have empty classrooms waiting and available to house St Bride’s Primary in August 2003. The school had every room used and it was only able to house St Bride’s by moving to other sites.

People may have forgotten, but I haven’t as my child was one of the children who had to move. This was all done very quickly and quietly with no consultation, unless you call a letter telling us parents that was what was going to happen.

We in Laighstonehall should be applauded for opening our arms to children from St Bride’s whose school burned down. I wonder if South Lanarkshire would have moved St Bride’s nursery to a totally unsuitable place if we from Laighstonehall had needed the room. I doubt that!

And so the disruption went on and on for St Peter’s: St Elizabeth’s followed and then St Cuthbert’s and currently St Anne’s. We were told that would be the end but now Bothwell Primary is coming.

St Peter’s has one small corridor which is continually ‘invaded’ by pupils from these other schools using its computer room. I say enough is enough.

I am in no doubt this would not have been allowed to happen to one of the schools in the so-called posh areas. Can you imagine this level of disruption at St John the Baptist? Heaven forbid that their children would have their schooling disrupted!

We trust staff in our schools to do the best they can with the small space available for our children, but we have been quiet for too long.

A friend of Laighstonehall children.