Scottish Catholic Observer

Right 4 St Ninian’s, a parent pressure group, is fighting a plan to stop pupils at Glasgow primary schools having the right to attend St Ninian’s High, Giffnock, which is in East Renfrewshire. Protesters marched from the school to East Renfrewshire Council’s head office at Eastwood Park yesterday. More than 2000 letters against the change were also handed in at the offices.

“This is our school, campaigned for by residents, built for our children,” Shirley Muir, from Right 4 St Ninian’s, said “You cannot change decisions about a child’s education based on a list of postcodes. We are fearful the council is not listening.”

St Ninian’s, the top-performing Catholic school in Scotland, is over-subscribed, with around 1800 pupils in the 1700-capacity buildings.

Currently, the catchment area crosses the border from East Renfrewshire to Glasgow. East Renfrewshire Council bosses say the best solution is to remove Glasgow homes that qualify for St Ninian’s.

Six primary schools will be affected by the proposed change and parents on both sides of the boundaries have teamed up to protest.

The Glasgow Arcdiocese has backed the parents throughout the public consultation period, which ended at midnight last Friday.

A council spokesman said: “This consultation was entirely focused on the fact St Ninian’s is full and a solution needs to be found.”