Date : Thursday 1st April 2004
Time : 12.30pm
Venue: Scottish Parliament – Edinburgh

A party of the Midlothian Rural Schools Action Group which will include representatives of all 5 rural schools set for closure in August 2004, will be submitting a petition to The Scottish Parliament on Thursday 1st April at 12.30pm.

The petition asks the Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to bring the closure of rural schools in to line with the presumption, held by the rest of the United Kingdom, that the Executive should ratify all rural school closures. The current policy runs counter to the existing Scottish policies in relation to rural sustainability and regeneration. It appears that under devolution Scottish citizens have fewer rights in this regard than their counterparts in the rest of the UK.

Richard Lock, School Board Chairman of Temple Primary School and signatory on the petition said, “while I realise this maybe too late in our case I hope it will benefit other parents and children of rural areas from being placed in the same position in the future”.

Rhona Brankin and Lord James Douglas Hamilton will be in attendance.

The petition will be delivered in the Black and White Corridor

Notes to editors:

The delegation of school representatives from each of the five schools, Borthwick, Cousland, Cranston, Howgate and Temple, will be available for comment after the submission.

For further info:
Contact Richard Lock on 07890 421081 or Sandra Crow 07971 628066

Attached is a copy of the petition

PETITION to the SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT and to
Education, Rural Affairs and Children's Affairs Committees

2 March 2004

We the undersigned call upon the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to restore the presumption against closure of rural schools, a presumption which applies in all other parts of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland (and the stated policy of the governing Labour Party).

Further, we call upon the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to ensure that any financial proposal (by a Council for new school projects) will accordingly not in principle include rural school closures. Any departure from the presumption in individual cases shall be on the grounds of the balance of educational advantage to the children of those schools being clearly demonstrated, such advantage to be professionally and independently appraised, with adequate time being afforded to School Boards to prepare their case and to develop counter proposals, including the retention of the status quo.

Council practice in relation to their powers should not mean that Scots parents have materially less influence in the matter of school closures than other UK citizens.

This petition is in support of the principle of putting the children first; and the principle of devolution, allowing the families and communities affected to play a full part in the creation of socially inclusive solutions to the issues of rural schooling.

Signed

Richard Lock

Petitioner