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Save Scalloway School


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Without doubt the first decision this council has got right in a long time.

 

The SIC needs to save money, and fast, and closing small costly schools is the obvious place to start.

 

There is no drop in service provison, as the kids still get educated and the council saves money.

 

Hopefully paves the way for the building to be used for an expanded primary section, with the future closure of Hamnavoe and Tingwall primaries and the kids being transferred to a bigger, more efficient Scalloway Primary.

 

More money saved.

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Scalloway school is in amongst some of the top schools in shetland. With almost half of the pupils achieving credit grades.

 

Scalloway school gives pupils the best possible chance to achieve the best that they can in later life. With a wide range of extra ciricullar activities, offering a wide range of subjects the pupils are highly educated and happy with the way they are at this moment.

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I do live in Lerwick, as do nearly half the population of Shetland.

 

If extremely small single teacher / composite class schools are so good for kids education then all children attending schools in Lerwick at a disadvantage.

 

Either close small schools, or build another 10 primary and secondary schools in Lerwick to even up the education levels throughout Shetland.

 

I know there only one of those options which the SIC can afford.

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^Does where they live mean their point is less valid?.

 

None of what Stirrer said was countered by the OP which is one of the problems with these campaign threads if you're fighting to save something you don't want to hear from the people who think that it should be closed.

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Stirrer your a typical Tooney never give a toss about any where else as long as i dosnt affect Lerwick.. The AHS isnt up to scratch for the pupils that are there now..Why should a school like Scalloway junior high suffer to make savings to pull out a council that throw money around like confetti when it suits them..

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Scalloway school is in amongst some of the top schools in shetland. With almost half of the pupils achieving credit grades.

 

Scalloway school gives pupils the best possible chance to achieve the best that they can in later life. With a wide range of extra ciricullar activities, offering a wide range of subjects the pupils are highly educated and happy with the way they are at this moment.

 

I have no problem with Scalloway, and take my hat off to the teachers and pupils for their good work and grades.

 

However, this is being done with a teacher / pupil ratio which is both unsustainable and unaffordable.

 

With a new school being planned in Lerwick, pupils from Scalloway can be easily accommodated within the AHS. Hopefully a new school can lead to many more pupils achieving good grades.

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that's the problem. they are planning to close schools down before the receiving school is even built. build the new school then prove to the parents that its better for there kids.

but the major thing is that they have to build the school first.

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The penny hasn't dropped for folk with bairns attending AHS - closing Scalloway = bigger class sizes = poorer deal for everyone.

 

And besides actual pupil-teacher ratio, physical space and facilities at Anderson High, especially common areas and canteen space, are already struggle to cope with existing student numbers.

 

The proposed closure is planned for 2011. There are no plans, and no final site yet for a new AHS, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the current AHS still in use in 5 years time.

 

And when you are talking of money, it's much cheeper to use existing facilities that are fit for purpose - such as Scalloway, than it is to create a new build much bigger than it has to be.

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Have to agree with Stirrer. I really don't see the point of having another large secondary within ten minutes of Lerwick. There's supposed to be 'equality of provision' throughout Shetland, so if smaller schools are to remain open, provision in Lerwick should have to be dramatically increased.

A bit off topic, but I find it difficult to sympathise with schools with really small pupil rolls, when bairns in Lerwick are being taught sometimes up to 28 in a class. (And yes, I'm a toonie before you ask! But if a so-called 'substandard' educational experience is good enough for my bairns, it should be good enough for everyone elses!)

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The teaching ratio at Scalloway has been affordable for many years. So why has it now been decided we cannot continue to have this education? Probably because the council has run out of money. But why should the children at Scalloway be the ones to pay for that?

 

The reason the council has run out of money, is because they have been splashing out money keeping the likes of Scalloway school open for far too long.

 

Instead of listening to their financial experts over the past years, the council has put off making tough decisions on how to save money.

 

We are now at 11.59 on the clock, and unfortunately the cut-backs will be more severe than if they had been planned for over the years.

 

It is the fault of successive councils over the years. It is easy to add services when times are good, and the money is there to pay for it, for the well has run dry.

 

The kids of Scalloway school are not paying for it, they will still get a very good education in Lerwick. I suspect that as high a proportion of pupils from Lerwick go on to university as any other school in Shetland.

 

Everybody will have their own pet projects which they do not feel should be cut, or believe is a special case. However, cut must be made, and transferring pupils the short distance to from Scalloway to Lerwick seems like one of the least painful cuts that could be made.

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The penny hasn't dropped for folk with bairns attending AHS - closing Scalloway = bigger class sizes = poorer deal for everyone.

Such an argument assumes that people should be expected to take a self-centred position. Even assuming that current AHS parents will be disadvantaged in some way by rural closures, is it not possible that they might be taking a more altruistic stance?

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The reason the council has run out of money, is because they have been splashing out money keeping the likes of Scalloway school open for far too long.

This is not the reason they have been losing money, they probably spend more keeping the leaking Anderson open when there really should be a new school. And dont tell me you've forgotten about the £200 odd million they spent to pay off Dave Clark. Scalloway is a perfectly affordable school, there is no evidence that shows otherwise.

 

The kids of Scalloway school are not paying for it, they will still get a very good education in Lerwick. I suspect that as high a proportion of pupils from Lerwick go on to university as any other school in Shetland.

The kids at Scalloway are paying for it. We will have to lose our school, and the community will have to pay for it too, what new families will want to move there if we lose our secondary?

 

Everybody will have their own pet projects which they do not feel should be cut, or believe is a special case. However, cut must be made, and transferring pupils the short distance to from Scalloway to Lerwick seems like one of the least painful cuts that could be made.

Least painfull? This will affect everyone, not just kids from Scalloway. As it was said before, the kids at Anderson will have even bigger classes and there will be even more pressure to build a new school quickly.[/u]

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