Consultation set to take place on Catholic education

Friday 8 November 2019

Councillors in Inverclyde have agreed to changes to a popular high School intake and to carry out a consultation to find out the views of the community on future needs to Catholic education in the area.

The consultation is set to take place in the affected schools including the three village schools – Kilmacolm, Wemyss Bay and Inverkip – where parents have a choice of whether to send their child to either a denominational or non-denominational school.

The pre consultation will also look at demand for a Catholic education in the West of Inverclyde including if there is a demand in addition to the schools already there for a primary Catholic education.

Continuing pressure on the school role at St Columba’s High School in Gourock also meant the council has agreed to increase the capacity from 120 to 140 for the academic year starting in August 2020.

Inverclyde Council’s education convener, Councillor Jim Clocherty, said: “The capacity at St Columba’s is under some pressure, but this change means that the council can more easily manage the pressure next year.

“As we examine future years it is important that we address the continuing issues raised from our village schools.

“The council will now carry out a consultation with parents of all affected schools to find out their views and examine a range of options.”

The options being proposed are:

Option 1 - Only pupils with a certificate of Baptism into the Catholic faith will automatically transfer from village schools to Roman Catholic secondary schools.

Option 2 - Remove village schools as feeder schools for denominational secondary schools.

Option 3 - Ascertain the demand for a Catholic Primary School in the West of Inverclyde in addition to St Ninian’s Primary School, Gourock.

Councillor Clocherty added: “The increase in intake at St Columba’s will help but it won’t solve the ongoing capacity issues at St Columba’s.  The consultation on a raqnge of options could help us to find a way to solve the issues at the school and make sure that we are supporting fully the choices of parents and continuing to make sure that we provide the best education we can to our young people.”

Page last updated: 8 November 2019