A PUBLIC meeting will be held in Bonhill tomorrow (Wednesday) over plans to close and merge two of the area’s primary schools.

Ladyton and Highdykes Primary have been earmarked to merge by education chiefs at West Dunbartonshire Council.

If the move is given the go ahead, both primaries would come together as a new school in the St Ronan’s Primary building next year, while St Ronan’s pupils would move into the empty Ladyton building.

Both schools would then be full re-furbished at a cost of £1.5m, with all three schools are categorised as category C, meaning they are in poor condition and under capacity.

Red-faced council bosses have already been forced to apologise over its handling of the issue after parents found out about the plans on social media. This meeting is the first time parents will have had a chance to speak to members of the education department about the plans face-to-face.

One mum, whose child attends Highdykes Primary, told the Reporter: “I think one of the main concerns parents have is that this is already a done deal and it a foregone conclusion that our school will close. Parents need reasasurance at this meeting that the council it actually there to listen to people and not just pay lip service. This all appears to be very hasty, coming off the back of the Scottish Government offering to pay for a new Our Lady and St Patrick’s High.

“We don’t want the future of our children’s education to be decided off the back of rushed council policy.” Ladyton Nursery is also included in the shake-up, with it being altered to cater for under-threes only. Three to four-year-olds would move to a new centre withing St Ronan’s Primary. Speaking at a meeting of the Education Committee last month, Terry Lanaga, director of education, said: “There has been some speculation as to why we are proposing these plans. This is because of the specific conditions of the schools concerned.

The three schools involved in the other development are not in good condition and are also not suitable for modern education. The Highdykes building is in a very, very, poor condition. Both St Ronan’s and Ladyton are in a condition which can be refurbished to a high standard.

“I think there’s been speculation for a number of years of Ladyton and Highdykes being amalgamated and that process was started by the schools’ previous head teachers through merging the house systems and starting to work together.

“As for St Ronan’s, there are 93 pupils rattling about in there at the moment. These plans move three schools from a category C to a category B.” The meeting will be held in St Ronan’s Primary, Bonhill, at 7pm.