High number of transfer requests at Banchory PS
Hamish Hutchinson • Published 15 Dec 2010 09:30
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More parents want their children transferred from Banchory Primary than any other Tullibody school.
MORE parents want their children to be transferred from Banchory Primary School than any other Tullibody primary, new figures have revealed.
During 2009-10 there were 45 placing requests out of the Alloa Road school, five times greater than Abercromby and 11 times greater than St Serf's.
In contrast there were no requests by parents for their children to transfer to Banchory, while Abercromby and St Serf's had 17 and 28 requests respectively.
Placing requests out of St Bernadettes are not calculated as all addresses in the county have two catchment primary schools – one denominational and one non-denominational.
Councillor George Matchett, Inclusion Portfolio Holder, was at a loss to explain the reason behind the huge difference between primary school requests.
He said, "As in other primary schools there have always been a number of placing requests out of Banchory Primary School. Parents have the right to choose where they send their children to school and do not have to give a reason for this."
Under legislation, parents have the right to request to a local authority that their child be sent to a school that is not in their catchment area.
The number of placing requests out of Banchory made by parents whose children had not started school rose from 24 in 2007-8 to 32 in 2009-10
In comparison, over the same period, Abercromby P1 requests rose from 2 to 5 and St Serf's fell from 7 to 4.
P1 placing requests in to Banchory dropped from 2 in 2007-08 to none in 2009-10. Elsewhere, Abercromby's P1 requests rose from 12 to 15 and St Serf's from 16 to 24. The village's Roman Catholic primary, St Bernadette's, remained at a constant 3 or 2 requests over the past three years.
As reported in the Advertiser in September, concerns were raised over Banchory's performance highlighted by an increase in the number of placing requests out of the school. It came as headteacher John Harley, head of the 151-pupil school, went on sick leave and remains absent.
Despite this the most recent HMIE inspection of Banchory primary, conducted in 2003, praised the school for its continuing improvements in raising attainment. The school has also been praised for its involvement in the production of materials for the National Assessment Resource (NAR), designed to help teachers across Scotland assess pupils within the new Curriculum for Excellence.
Mr Matchett added, "The most recent evaluation of provision at Banchory Primary School was very positive. The day-to-day business at Banchory Primary continues."
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