Aberdeen parents are worried a confusing consultation that “caused hell to break loose” could be used to deny them a Catholic secondary school.
The city trails Scotland’s other major cities in providing denominational schools, based on the size of their Catholic populations.
And chairman of the St Joseph’s RC School parent council, JJ Welsh, claimed it was putting people off living in Aberdeen.
“I know people who have chosen not to move up here because of it,” he said.
“It seems incredible that Aberdeen doesn’t have a Catholic secondary.”
At Aberdeen Town House on Tuesday, he railed against a “disappointing and difficult to use” council feasibility study on the future of RC schools in Aberdeen.
What was so confusing about Aberdeen’s Catholic schools survey?
The layout confused many taking part and the wording of a question about the demand for a Catholic academy was heavily criticised.
He raged: “Everyone in the community should have known what it was about.
“After reading the guidance notes, with three or four weeks to go, all hell broke loose.
“All parents were concerned that their school would close.
“You would have seen a much bigger response if it had been done properly.”
Does Aberdeen need a Catholic secondary school?
There are 19,000 Catholics in Aberdeen, according to the latest census, though the city’s three RC primaries take in kids from Aberdeenshire too, where there are another 11,000.
For comparison, there are 20,000 Catholics in Dundee. However, there are two RC secondary and 12 RC primaries there.
However, only 1,300 people in Aberdeen responded to the council’s feasibility study.
And the council said because only 730 were keen on their school-aged children going to a citywide RC high school, the proposal did not meet its 1,000-pupil minimum for a new school.
It’s the same reasoning that shelved plans for a high school in Countesswells.
But Mr Welsh accused top officials of “dare I say, supporting an agenda” with the numbers, and failing to question why thousands of other Catholics did not do the survey.
“Had it been different, had the secondary school question been worded differently, had the message got out, you would have had many more come back,” he concluded.
Why was Aberdeen education convener branded ‘anti-Catholic’?
Meanwhile, a furious row over the prospect of a Roman Catholic secondary school has led to calls for Aberdeen education convener to resign.
Lib Dem Martin Greig denied charges levelled at him of being “anti-Catholic” as he overruled a democratic decision to continue talks on the new high school.
It was at the same meeting his education committee had heralded big-money plans for a multi-million-pound academy and community campus in Northfield.
But when the Catholic church representative John Murray, parents and teachers voted with opposition councillors on Tuesday, Mr Greig and his Lib Dem and SNP coalition took their decision off the table.
It will now be decided at October’s full council meeting – crucially denying the external members of the education committee their democratic voice.
What were they fighting about?
Council services manager Andrew Jones had urged councillors to monitor pupil numbers at Aberdeen’s three Catholic primaries and defer making a decision on their future for a year.
This is the option Mr Greig went with.
But the church’s rep Mr Murray had pressed for much more including the formation of a new Catholic schools working group and a costed plan for RC schooling in the future.
He also pressed for continued talks on the possibility of a Catholic secondary school, given the flawed feasibility study didn’t even ask how many school-aged children the 730 interested parents had.
He was backed by parent and teacher reps, as well as opposition councillors, as he expressed “regret at the lack of a proper and open consultation” on the academy in the first place.
‘His anti-Catholic mask slipped’
Immediately after the vote, education convener Martin Greig called for the matter to be taken above the heads of the external reps.
“What’s the point?” Conservative group leader Richard Brooks then asked, having endured the hours-long debate.
Roman Catholic Councillor Mrs Jennifer Stewart, an independent, added: “That’s manipulative. It comes across as very anti-Catholic to me.”
Mr Greig ignored that, asking for questions on the subsequent agenda item on children’s social work.
Mr Brooks, a fellow practicing Christian, has now called on the Lib Dem to resign as education convener.
He told The P&J: “Councillor Greig appears to be letting his non-inclusive – some might say anti-Catholic – mask slip.
“This has shown a side to him I have never experienced before – one that seems adamant that Catholic representation should not be heard.”
And Mrs Stewart, who went through an acrimonious split with Mr Greig’s Lib Dems in 2017, backed calls for him to lose his £34,000-a-year job.
“It was an abuse of power and there’s no point in external members being there if the convener will overrule them.
“He’s meant to be be a church elder, but I feel there’s an anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, element to Aberdeen City Council.”
Education convener: ‘My actions speak louder than their personal attacks’
Mr Greig said the “personal attacks” proved his opponents had lost the argument, and that “difficult decisions” on schools across Aberdeen had to be made in a strategic way.
The cash-strapped council has already committed to building a £120m replacement Hazlehead Academy, now is exploring a new Northfield Academy and is spending more doing up “crumbling” Ferryhill School and Harlaw Academy.
The Church of Scotland elder told The P&J: “Use of unsubstantiated insults is not the right way to make decisions about the future and the wellbeing of children.
“And actions speak louder than words. Our Lib Dem and SNP partnership has prioritised improvements at RC denominational schools with an investment of £27m at St Peter’s and upgrades to St Joseph’s.”
Mr Greig added that he didn’t think he had to do anything to win back the trust of the faith leaders, parents and teachers on his committee, rejecting the idea he had diminished their democratic power.
He blasted his “cynical and opportunistic” opponents who he said had done the same when they were in power.
However, Mr Greig agreed he had complained about their actions at the time.
And Labour is bringing forward calls to allow the external members to have a say in the October vote, despite it being taken above their heads at full council.
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