Howgate Primary school is to close in five weeks as part of Midlothian Council's £50 million educational reform.

Councillors last week voted unanimously to close the school at the end of June despite an 11th hour plea from parents for a stay of execution to consider their proposal to establish a trust responsible for the maintenance of the building.

Of the four other rural schools under threat, Borthwick and Temple will remain open until pupils can be transferred to a new school to be built at Middleton. Pupils at Cranston and Cousland will remain at their schools until a new school is built at Pathhead.

In addition to the new schools at Middleton and Pathhead, the local authority will construct new schools at Stobhill and Gorebridge. Loanhead and St Margaret's Primary shared campus on the Loanhead Primary site.

Bryans and Langlaw, in Mayfield, will merge with the new school being built on a neutral Greenfield site and Eastfield and Ladywood, in Penicuik, will also merge.

This new school will be built on the Edinburgh Crystal factory site.

Bonnyrigg, Cuiken and Woodburn Primaries will be refurbished and extended to incorporate Cockpen, Cuikenburn and Thornybank Nurseries respectively.

Rural schools campaigners have given a mixed reaction to Midlothian council's intention to close one village school at the end of June.

Following the council's announcement last week, Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group spokesman David Picken said: "We are extremely pleased that the councillors have listened to the public and made a sensible decision about not immediately closing four of the rural schools. However, it is very disappointing that Howgate Primary School will close at the end of term.

"The schools and communities affected by the new proposals will need some time to consider their response. Let us make no mistake people are still extremely angry about how the consultation was carried out and that all the rural community schools will close. We still welcome the council's long term vision to improve the quality of the schools estate but cannot believe the council can make such major decisions on such poor and inaccurate information."

The membership of Midlothian Council's cabinet has been changed.

Out are Councillors Jackie Aitchison and Russell Imrie to be replaced by Councillors Bob Jenkins and Jim Muirhead.

The new cabinet with portfolio responsibilities is a follows:

• Corporate Resources, Councillor Adam Montgomery (Leader)
• Social Work, Health and Housing, Councillor Danny Molloy
• Leisure, Recreation and Sport, Councillor Bob Jenkins
• Education and Lifelong Learning, Councillor Peter Boyes
• Strategic Services, Councillor Jim Dunsmuir
• Council Development and Improvement, Councillor Jim Muirhead
• Commercial Services, Councillor Derek Milligan

The Council Development and Improvement portfolio is new and will concentrate on council's developing - performance, best value and well-being responsibilities as well as encompassing the modernising government and transportation agendas.

Two committees – scrutiny and performance panel – have also been scrapped to be replaced by the Performance Review committee, which will be chaired by Councillor Russell Imrie and comprise of 11 non-cabinet members.

Councillors have also agreed their allowances for the coming year with the Leader Adam Montgomery being paid £24,200.

The six cabinet members will each receive £18,247. Provost Sam Campbell will be paid £16,000 and Depute Provost Margot Russell, £7,278.

Other allowances agreed include £15,278 to the Planning Committee chairman Councillor Keith McIntosh, £10,278 to Performance Review chairman Councillor Russell Imrie, General Purposes committee chairman Wilma Chalmers, Appeals committee chairman Councillor Bill Russell and Midlothian Licensing Board chairman Graham Marr.

Opposition Group Leader Councillor David Fletcher will be paid £7,278.

Just a brief note to thank you and your staff for the excellent coverage you have given the Save Our Rural Schools campaign. I'm sure your excellent coverage of the facts and the news items has influenced the council with their decision.

Your ongoing publication of letters has really shown the depth and breadth of feeling throughout Midlothian.

However, as the schools and communities consider the options set out by the council I have the feeling this campaign is not over yet as all five rural community schools will close.

I'm sure the communities of Midlothian will need your continued coverage on this important issue.

David Picken
Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group

It is very much welcomed that the Director of Education has put forward the suggestion that rural schools should be kept open. This clearly shows that he has taken on board the real support for the rural schools from the communities which became obvious during the consultation period.

The communities have welcomed the support of their councillors for Borthwick and Temple at meetings during that period.

I am very pleased that the rural school area is now considered separately from the very real need for improvement in the town schools.

All among rural communities have supported the call for improved facilities in the town.

We know that Borthwick offers an excellent educational and social experience at low cost.

The Borthwick community is aware that the school roll has been capped since the new houses were built in North Middleton.

If the Director of Education were to lift this restriction, then the school roll would soon be back to pre-cap levels – making the school even more economically viable as well as in the heart of the community.

We are sure that the councillors will want to support efforts to support the vibrant rural areas in Midlothian.

This can be an exciting time for the rural areas of Midlothian with the population growing as new housing is approved, the Waverley line potentially reopening and improving transport links and families and businesses choosing to move to the area. Borthwick School can be a big part of that exciting future.

Mrs Ann Graham
(Concerned grandmother)
Currie Inn Farm
Gorebridge

In five weeks' time, the face of education in Midlothian will change forever with the closure of the county's smallest primary school, Howgate.

The closure, at the end of this term, will herald the start of a £50 million shake up of schools' premises in Midlothian with up to eight new schools being built under the Public Private Partnership agreement.

Howgate will be the only rural school to close immediately. MC has agreed upon a compromise for Borthwick and Temple with pupils remaining in their schools until a new building is constructed at Middleton. This will be dependent on the local authority securing funding.

Similarly, pupils at Cranston and Cousland will stay in their schools until Pathhead Primary is rebuilt.

St Margaret's and Loanhead will be rebuilt on a shared campus on the site of Loanhead Primary School. Langlaw and Bryans will be merged with the new school being built on a Greenfield site and Ladywood and Eastfield will merge with the school being sited on Edinburgh Crystal land.

MC will now begin a second phase of consultation with parents affected by the proposals to build a new school at Middleton, on the crystal factory site in Penicuik, and a new school at Pathhead.

At a three-hour meeting last week, Midlothian councillors received last minute pleas and praise from representatives from all the schools affected by the reforms. More than an hour was spent listening to school delegates put forward their case.

In a last ditch attempt to save Howgate from the chop, parents proposed the establishment of a trust to be responsible for the repair and maintenance of the school. Maureen Murray, school chairman, urged the council to give them a chance to prove they had a sustainable solution.

Stuart McGeachie, also representing Howgate, added: "What we propose its that we put in place a trust which with members of the council on board and some parents from the school, we think we could make the school work and take financial responsibility for the building."

The Liberal Democrats on Midlothian Council, while backing the majority of the Labour Group's education plans, put forward an amendment calling for a year's moratorium.

Councillor David Fletcher said he was "very disappointed" at the planned closure of an "excellent school."

"We have heard the proposal whereby the council and parents would work together with regard to the setting up of a trust. What is proposed there I do not think will stand up at all. My view is that this should be taken further than that, leading possible to the purchasing of the school and the setting up of an independent school. I would like time and consideration given to that," said Councillor Fletcher.

While agreeing it would be nice to keep Howgate open, Labour group leader Adam Montgomery said the trust proposal "wasn't a starter."

He said: "We spent a lot of time with the director to see if this proposal could stack up but I am sorry. It doesn't stack up," he added.

Parents at Loanhead and St Margaret's Primary shared concerns about the ability of the proposed campus site at Loanhead Primary to contain both schools and community facilities.

The majority of parents at St Margaret's did not wish to move to a shared campus with Loanhead, school representatives also told councillors. Peter McCormick said that the school enjoyed spacious classrooms, were well located with playground offering pupils a self-contained, well-protected environment and parents did not wish to lose this.

Religious representative Victor Bourne added that there were concerns that the new campus would not be constructed on a neutral site and called for a further re-examination of possible central sites for the schools.

Local councillor Bill Hoggan, who abstained from the final vote, said: "With the projected new campus I am losing the primary school my dad and I were educated in and losing the primary school, formerly our secondary school, and losing our town hall. This means a lot to the people of Loanhead.

"For 12 weeks I have listened to everyone. I have kept an open mind to all arguments affecting the burgh of my birth.

"The very thing which holds me back from the schools going to a shared campus is the size (of the site).

"I would ask before I could support this that this issue be considered further to see if what is proposed is feasible."

Councillor Montgomery admitted there was not neutral site in Loanhead for the campus, which he had been assured would work on the given site.

Proposing the multi-million pound programme, Councillor Montgomery said: "This is not about five rural schools.

"This is about 17 new schools in Midlothian 8500 pupils in primary and nursery – that is what this is about. We want to make sure as we move into this century that we have schools fit for purpose."

Seconding the plans Councillor Peter Boyes added: "Our proposals are about securing the highest possible quality of school and community facility equipped for the modern curriculum that our children deserve."

In the heart of Howgate village, the primary school's original building was erected in 1910 with a flat roofed extension added in later years.

In March the council reported there were 16 pupils at the school, with a capacity factor of 32 per cent.

This is the fewest number of pupils the school has had – since 1991 the maximum number of children has been 28.

Howgate has a limited play area, no PE facilities and limited opportunities to provide facilities for music, PE and IT.

The building needs replacement windows and doors and repairs to the extension's external walls. Roof repairs and rot treatment to the roof joists are also required.

A member of Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group has called for the resignation of the council's Director of Education Donald MacKay.

It follows the public consultation on the future of local primary schools which ended, it is claimed, with the names, addresses, personal medical details and pictures of children who responded to the consultation being published on a CD-Rom.

Jennifer MacGregor a representative of Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group said: "I was horrified to find that all this information was being copied and put in the public domain. Surely it was not beyond the means of the Council to blank out the personal information that identifies the children.

"The published information includes names, addresses, pictures and sensitive medical details all of which contravenes the Child Protection legislation and Data Protection and Donald MacKay must take full responsibility for this appalling error.

"The handling of the consultation process beggars belief from start to finish. However, of immediate concern is the incompetence of the Department of Education at Midlothian Council who made all correspondence to the consultation freely available in it entirety.

"This included person correspondence from children who wrote to Donald MacKay to air their concerns that their school was being considered for closure.

"His professional standing with the council must surely be untenable and he should do the honourable thing and resign as Director of Education."

Despite the matter being brought to the attention of Mr MacKay and Trevor Muir, Chief Executive of Midlothian Council last Monday, copies of the sensitive material were still freely available from council offices three days later, it was claimed.

Mrs MacGregor added: "When the matter was brought to the attention of Mr MacKay last Monday, his initial response was that it is part of a public consultation. Following intervention from the Social Work Department on Wednesday, Mr MacKay retracted his statement and sent a personal letter of apology to the children and promised to incinerate all copies of the material. Surely from being alerted that this information was being made available on the Monday, Mr Mackay has the capacity to put an immediate stop on all copies being made available. Yet it was still being handed out by Midlothian Council last Thursday.

"Not only is this a serious breach of data protection but it also shows a severe lack of respect to the safeguards in place to protect our children. All through the consultation process it has been apparent that Mr Mackay has had little regard for our children's education. Now it is clear that he has even less regard for their welfare and protection. I have placed my copy of the offending material in the hands of my lawyers and I intend to take this serious mishandling of information further.

Midlothian Council published the information as part of the decisions taken by the council on Thursday.

FOUR of Midlothian's rural schools earmarked for closure were given a stay of execution last week, but Howgate will close as planned at the end of the present school year.

And the new school to replace Eastfield and Ladywood will be built on the Edinburgh Crystal site recently bought by Midlothian Council.

The decisions taken at last Thursday's meeting of the Council were broadly in line with the original proposals put out for consultation at the end of February.

But both Borthwick and Temple primary schools will remain open until a new rural school is built at North Middleton while children from both Cranston and Cousland will transfer to Pathhead but only when the existing school there has been replaced by a new building.

The original plan was that Cousland pupils should transfer to Woodburn and then to a new primary school to be built on the Dalkeith campus.

Speaking following the meeting, Council Leader Adam Montgomery saiid: "Midlothian Council and the three religious representatives took part in today's meeting.

"We have listened to representatives from the affected schools, both today and throughout the consultation period, and have deliberated at great length because we want to ensure the best educational start for young people in Midlothian.

Today's decisions show that we have listened and tried to accommodate the views put to us. There will be some people disappointed at the decisions taken, but I would ask them to look hard at what we have put in place today and see the benefits which will arise for so many pupils both now and in the future."

Councillor Montgomery continued: "We are a small Council and have already opened four new schools this year, on budget and on time.

"We are now making a further major financial commitment — £38.5m in PPP funding as well as capital funding for two new schools and three refurbished and extended schools.

"This money will be a sound investment for future generations of Midlothian children."

Councillor Peter Boyes, Cabinet Member responsible for Education, added: "Today is a landmark day for Midlothian Council's education service. We have a tremendous opportunity to offer pupils the chance to learn in brand new or refurbished schools — almost two thirds of the nursery and primary school estate.

"The overall programme we have agreed today will mean the closure of some schools but means we can offer the highest possible standard of education and community facilities in many more.

"We have set a standard in the Dalkeith Schools Community Campus which we are striving to achieve for all Midlothian pupils and today is a huge step towards achieving this goal."

A last-ditch attempt by local Councillor David Fletcher to keep Howgate open in the short term was defeated. Speaking as leader of the Lib-Dem group on the Council, he said that overall the proposals were good for Midlothian.

It was a good idea for schools to include nursery classes and to have community education and other facilities attached.

However, he added, the Council was not good at dealing with rural areas.

"In terms of strategic development we are not as good as we should be," he said.

He welcomed the plans to expand Pathhead but said he was "very disappointed" at the plans to close Howgate immediately.

Referring to plans put forward by Howgate parents to set up a trust to run the school, Councillor Fletcher said that while these plans did not stand up as they were, time should be given for them to be looked at further.

He proposed a moratorium on the closure of Howgate while the proposals were looked at.

Councillor Montgomery said that the loss of Howgate was the saddest of all the five closures that were planned but said that at present it simply was not educationally viable.

The final decisions taken last week were:-

Stobhill Primary — rebuild under PPP.

Gorebridge Primary — rebuild under PPP.

Woodburn Primary — refurbish and extend, incorporating Thornybank Nursery.

Bryans and Langlaw — rebuild under PPP and merge in a new building on a greenfield site.

Bonnyrigg Primary — refurbish and extend, incorporating Cockpen Nursery.

Loanhead and St Margaret's — rebuild schools under PPP in a shared campus on the Loanhead Primary School site.

Eastfield and Ladywood — rebuild under PPP and merge, incorporating Strathesk Nursery, on the Edinburgh Crystal site.

Cuiken — refurbish and extend to incorporate Cuikenburn Nursery.

Pathhead Primary — rebuild under PPP, to include pupils from Cranston and Cousland.

Howgate Primary — close with pupils transferring either to Cuiken or Cornbank.

Borthwick and Temple — close with pupils transferring to a new school at Middleton.

Asked whether the plans to use the Edinburgh Crystal site for the new Ladywood/Eastfield school would affect the area to be used for industry (around one-third of the site), Councillor Montgomery said that there was no reason why it should.

"The original idea was to use most of the site for social housing," he said. "Now that both the present school sites will fall vacant we have more flexibility.

"There is no reason why these proposals should reduce the area for industrial development."

Councillor Montgomery refused to be drawn on the future of Ladywood Leisure Centre, saying only that a full review of leisure facilities in Midlothian was under way and would be complete by the autumn.