The Edinburgh primary schools that parents want to avoid

EDINBURGH'S least popular primary schools attract fewer than half the pupils in their catchment areas, as parents choose to send their children elsewhere, new figures revealed today.

The situation is worst at under-threat Bonnington Primary in Leith, where just one-in-six pupils living in the area actually goes to the school.

By contrast, the school with the highest number of pupils taking up their automatic placement is Ratho Primary, with almost 98 per cent of its P1 pupils coming from the catchment area.

The insight into the most and least popular primaries has been provided by a city council report revealing the number of requests by parents for their children to be given places at different schools.

It shows that in 24 city primaries last year, at least half of their potential pupils were educated elsewhere.

• Winners and losers in popularity contest: how does your child's school compare?

The four schools revealed by the Evening News last week as facing the new closure hit-list – Lismore, Bonnington, Victoria and Westburn – are all suffering as a result of catchment children being sent to other schools. Bonnington has the lowest take-up of primary one catchment places in the Capital, at just over 15 per cent.

Campaigners preparing to fight the closure plans today blamed the uncertainty over their future for their falling school rolls. But the city's education leader, Councillor Marilyne MacLaren insisted parents had the right to choose where their children were educated.

She said: "As Edinburgh is a vibrant capital city there are a number of parents who choose to send their children to schools outwith their catchment area for a variety of personal reasons.

"The council follows Scottish Government legislation which allows parents to state a preference in the schools where they send their children.

"This legislation stipulates that if there is space in a school, we cannot refuse a child a place, even if it is not their catchment area.

"Catchments apart, we have too many places in a number of our schools, which is why we are reviewing our school estate."

So far this year, the city council has received 933 requests from parents of new primary one pupils asking for their children to be given places at different schools.

This comes after recent Scottish Government statistics showed more parents in Edinburgh were asking to send their children outside their catchment area than anywhere else in Scotland.

Just over 1900 placing requests – for primary children of all ages – were made by parents of children in city primaries last year. A total of 73 per cent were granted.

Tina Woolnough, founder of the pressure group Parents in Partnership, said schools were suffering from the publicity surrounding the city council's closure plans. Last September, the council ditched its original plan to shut 22 schools and four community centres, but a new hit-list is now being worked on.

Ms Woolnough said: "The whole debacle of last summer's school closure programme would have had a major effect on some schools. Last year I know a number of parents left Bonnington because they felt it was about to shut at any minute.

"It's a vicious circle. I would encourage parents to do their research and make sure they base their decisions on facts, because sometimes parents base their decisions on things that aren't necessarily true.

"I can't see that choosing where to send your child does any harm, and there are various reasons why parents send their children to different schools – like being close to their work or childcare.

"What I do object to is the council artificially capping schools when people can see quite clearly that they still have places." Gail Ross, secretary of Lismore Parents Action Group, believes Lismore Primary has suffered as a result of being on two closure hit-lists in recent years.

Just 42 per cent of children in the school's catchment area are going there, according to today's figures. Ms Ross said: "The figure has to be based on the fact that they are going to shut the school.

"Last time we lost a lot of pupils because parents get scared when they think the school is going to close, and the first thing they do is send their children to a different school."

Tory group leader Councillor Iain Whyte, who requested the figures from the council, says having them to hand will help politicians when considering the closure proposals.

He said: "The figures back up our view that we should trust parents to know what's best for their child, and if there are schools that have spaces we should be advertising that to parents.

"It does hint that there possibly could be some more additional movement, and if the council feels it's absolutely necessary to go ahead with a school rationalisation programme, it's quite clear that it should be in line with parental wishes."