 The Scottish Government wants to cut primary school class sizes |
One of Scotland's top primary schools could use a lottery system to allocate places to new pupils living outside its catchment area. Mearns Primary, in Newton Mearns, said the move was necessary to deal with overwhelming demand for places and pressure to cut class sizes. Pupils who live within the school's catchment area would be allocated places in the usual way. The school received a glowing inspection report in 2004. The lottery system has not yet been used in Scotland, but has proved controversial at schools in England. East Renfrewshire Council said it was considering the lottery option as a way of cutting the intake of primary one pupils at Mearns Primary to meet Scottish Government targets, which would have no more that 18 pupils in a class. The council said that demand for places at its schools was exceptionally high because they have such a successful reputation, and that ballots could be used at other schools in the future. Extra places to pupils living outside a school's catchment area are normally allocated under strict guidelines, which give priority to children with special circumstances, or who have older brothers or sisters already at the school. But Judith Gillespie, of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, told BBC Scotland she believed allocating places through a lottery system was unfair. "If you simply go to a lottery then instead of ranking people according to clear criteria, and perhaps fairness, it becomes chance," she said. "You might actually end up with the least qualified person getting a place, and the most qualified person being denied an entrance." An HMIE inspection of Mearns Primary in 2004 praised the school for providing pupils with a "high standard" of education.
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You might actually end up with the least qualified person getting a place, and the most qualified person being denied an entrance
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