It is a tribute to the strength of feeling in Midlothian that so many hundreds turned out for the march on Friday, April 23.

Not just in Midlothian but across Scotland the Labour/Liberal Democrat government in Scotland is systematically seeking to destroy rural communities with policies wholly inappropriate for their survival. Post office closures, schools closures, and the rundown of rural infrastructures are their chosen tool to do so. Only in SNP-controlled areas of Scotland is this policy being vigorously resisted.

The feelings of SNP delegates to the party's Spring conference in Aberdeen on April 23 and 24 were made abundantly clear when SNP Midlothian introduced the only emergency resolution of the conference calling for the conference to send a message of support to the Midlothian Rural School Action Group on the day of their march in Dalkeith.

I was privileged to speak for the resolution which was passed with acclaim by the entire conference, Fiona Hyslop MSP, Shadow Education Minister, communicated that result to the marchers.

The SNP demands that Midlothian Council follow the example of other responsible councils in Scotland and elsewhere and establish the principle of presumption against rural schools closures.

Decisions must be made on educational grounds and with proper examination of rural community sustainability and not simply on the financial gains to be made for the council. Lining the pockets of selected private investors at the expense of our children's education is unacceptable.

Public money should not be wasted on creating profits for private companies merely on the somewhat dubious grounds that they are more efficient. We are pouring public money into these PPF vehicles but the quality of what we get in return is highly questionable. Look at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with its well publicised problems.

We must all hope that Midlothian council will accept that they are the servants of the people and must carry out what the people clearly want which is to review the fate of the five rural schools and seek a formula to preserve them in the interests of the communities they serve.

I greatly fear that the absolute arrogance of Labour to the public who elect them will result in a temporary fudge followed by implementation of the policy anyway after a time.

One cannot help but feel it is time for a change and that the people of Scotland should take control of their own affairs and exercise the normal powers of a nation instead of following London's diktats. We need the freedom to ensure such cases do not again arise.

Colin Beattie
SNP Midlothian Spokesperson

Recent attempts by the Labour MP Ian Davidson and his allies to hijack the proportional part of the Scottish Parliament's electoral system are a disgrace.

Labour already get substantially more seats in the Parliament than they deserve. Mr Davidson's plan to set up a Labour puppet party under the auspices of the Co-operative party would mean Labour could then have a coalition with theirselves!

Clearly some Labour politicians are prepared to go to any lengths to remove any other political party from a share in government. Many are addicted to the one party states they run at local authority level and cannot handle the democracy that PR supplies.

Unfortunately, in Midlothian, we can see the effect of outright power for Labour, school closures railroaded through against local opposition.

The only way to scupper these authoritarian tendencies (and loosen Labour's grip on every level of government) is the full single transferable vote system of proportional representation for every single election, not just council elections. It will be interesting to see how differently Labour behaves when its power accurately reflects its vote.

I notice from the Advertiser that the Labour Council and Labour MSP are pulling the old 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' routine over the school closures. This is a complete farce.

Labour run the Executive, they have total control of the council, they have full power at Westminster. The Labour party therefore are completely responsible for these closures and their other PPP schemes. They can have all the 'arguments' they like but the people of Midlothian must realise that Labour councils all over Scotland are coming up with similar proposals.

Joe Middleton
Grove Street
Edinburgh

I refer to the consultation in respect of the closure of Borthwick Primary School. As a former pupil of the school, I am extremely disappointed to hear that Midlothian Council are considering the closure of the school.

I attended Borthwick for seven years (1978-1984) and thoroughly enjoyed my schooling there. We were very fortunate in that we were able to participate in group lessons but also had the benefit of individual schooling from the class teacher.

I understand that considerable improvements have been carried out to the buildings. However, even when I attended the school, we had ample opportunity and space for a wide range of recreational activities.

We had weekly PE lessons (indoors in winter and outdoors in the summer) which included dance, circuits, football, badminton and cricket. Art and drama were taught by our class teacher and music and needlework were taught by specialist visiting teachers most weeks.

When we were in the senior years, we also attended an annual course of swimming lessons at Greenhall. I also completed my bicycle proficiency test in the school playground. In the summer, we sometimes went on walks in the surrounding countryside and learned about birds, flowers, trees and animals.

These paragraphs were unpublished : We had regular school plays and I recall that most people from North Middleton and surrounding farms came to watch us regardless of whether they had any children at the school. We sang at Borthwick church services and at Borthwick castle. Borthwick and Temple Primary Schools organised an annual rural schools games day. There was a real community spirit originating from the school. I'm sure that the councillors and director of education will have experienced this for themselves when they have visited the school and talked to parents and children.

My father and siblings also attended the school. My sister recently moved back into the school catchment area so that her three children could attend Borthwick. Through the years, there have been many generations of families who have attended the school and this helps to instil a real community spirit and a strong emotional attachment to the school. The children are proud of their school and the local community are eager to be involved with the school. This relationship is fundamental to the people living in the Borthwick parish.

Borthwick primary school helps to generate social and economic growth in this rural area. If school was closed, then it would reduce the prospect of growth and wellbeing in this area.

By way of example, I know of other professionals in Edinburgh who have viewed houses at Borthwick Green. One of their prime motivations for wanting to move into this area was the local school at Borthwick. If the school was to be closed, I would imagine that the houses in the local area would not be nearly as desirable to young families.

It is so important for the continued economic and social growth of this Borthwick parish to have these incomers settle in Borthwick/ Middleton. This will be prejudiced, if not prevented, by the closure of the school.

I have read the information which is available on the Council website and the pamphlet which was distributed to parents. There is an incredulous lack of information. I cannot believe that the proposal is being made without a direct financial comparison being included in advice to parents and councillors.

In order to consider the proposal, it is fundamental that there is an understanding of the costs involved for each school (both in the short and long term).

A business case for each school closure must surely be made and approved before it can be justified. I have seen no such case for closure and, can only presume, that the reason that it has not been provided is that the figures would show that keeping Borthwick school open would be a cheaper option.

I can only hope that they take into account the fact that, unlike many schools, Borthwick has a real "innocent" spirit in which the children enjoy going to school.

It is worth remembering that the pupils live in the country and, most are connected, directly or indirectly, to rural businesses. Surely, they should be encouraged to thrive in a rural environment rather than being taught that all facilities (including schools) are only located in towns. How else will rural communities be sustained in the future?

I understand that the Council's objective is to provide new "community" school projects. The community of Borthwick and Middleton currently value the "community" school that is Borthwick Primary School. If this amenity was taken away, what will be left to bring the local rural community together? North Middleton has already lost its pubs, shop, butcher and post office. There will be nothing left to act as the heart of the community.

I have seen publicity surrounding the "super school" at Dalkeith following the amalgamation of secondary schools. This experiment is still in its initial stages and, so far, has received only negative publicity about the difficulties it is experiencing, particularly with fighting and bullying. I would suggest that this "experiment" is given more time to run before it is used as a precedent for all other schools to follow.

The education that we received at Borthwick was first class. Our teachers taught some lessons in groups (either separate years or several year groups) and other lessons individually. The one to one teaching puts children from Borthwick at a huge advantage to other schools who cannot offer this.

Maths and English was taught in groups but then exercises were given to us individually and we were able to develop and learn at our own pace. This offers much more flexibility to meet pupils needs.

I understand that Borthwick's results are higher than that of Midlothian or the national level. How can the children from Borthwick possibly benefit from closure of their school? There has been no evidence of any educational benefit deriving from such a move.

Importantly, the financial costs must not be the only criteria that this proposed project is judged upon. The primary objective should be the educational development of the children and their respective needs. The status quo is working more than effectively and this is demonstrated by the attainment of higher results than other Midlothian schools.

I cannot imagine that it is helpful to the children to have them be transported to Stobhill each day. These children are from age 41/2 upwards. It may be arguable that high school children can travel that distance each day but surely it is too tiring for primary school children. I can only imagine that their attention span will be below normal if they arrive at school tired from their journey.

I am currently living in Sydney, working as a corporate lawyer. However, in a couple of years, my intention is to move back to Scotland to settle and have a family.

My partner and I have already looked at houses in the Borthwick area as we would like our children to have the same standard of education that I enjoyed. I consider that I was extremely fortunate to have been educated at Borthwick.

I object to Midlothian's proposed closure of Borthwick Primary School and I expect my opinion to be taken into account during this consultation process.

Lucy Graham
Sydney
Australia

A petition handed to the Scottish Parliament by Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group has been passed on to Midlothian's education committee.

The petitions committee heard from MRSAG members Richard Lock, Irene Stewart and Colette Pemberton.

The petition called for the parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to restore the presumption against rural school closures and that nay departure from this presumption in individual cases should be on the grounds of the balance of educational advantage to the children of those schools being clearly and independently demonstrated.

Meanwhile, Borthwick and Temple parents Emma Wadee and Sandra Crow handed in documents to Midlothian Council stating their arguments to keep open their own rural schools.

The consultation period ended on April 30, Sandra said:"There is no dialogue going on now. It is waiting game and it is so damaging for the children.

"This not knowing is damaging for the communities, for people's emotional state and here we have Midlothian Council being judge, jury and executioner rolled into one."

Emma's four-year-old son Leon was due to start at Borthwick after the summer holidays. If the school stays open, he will be the fourth generation of the family to attend the school.

Sandra said parents had received letters stating their children could have P1 places if the schools are open.

She said: "By the time they have deliberated and Donald Mackay has written new proposals we will be talking about June – about three weeks to go to the end of term.

"I think it's immoral to treat people like that and it has a knock-on effect on other schools."

Pictured is Emma Wadee of Borthwick outside Fairfield House with a copy of the village's response to Midlothian Council's plans for small school closures. Pictured with Emma is Sandra Crow and youngsters Amber (3) and Leon (4) Wadee.