St Ninian's: Access All Areas

Following a landmark legal case brought

about by parent Bob Bowie (33), East

Renfrewshire council must now enrol

pupils from new housing developments

built on the border between its

constituency and Glasgow into St Ninian's.

Court of Session presiding judge, Lord

Uist said ERCs consultation exercise into

the school's entry was worthless and based

on a false premise.

In a written ruling yesterday he said: "It

seems to me that East Renfrewshire

council has sought to give a far-fetched

and strained meaning to that term

(delineated area) by contending that it

denotes a list of streets".

And he added he would have thought

the meaning of "delineated area was selfevident".

Father-of-two Mr Bowie, of Parklands

Meadow, raised the action for a judicial

review after receiving a letter from ERC

that refused his daughter Blaire (11) a

place at St Ninian's.

ERC argued although his street was in

the vicinity, it was not on a specific list of

streets that granted pupils the right to

attend St Ninian's.

The Eastwood park

school is already over its planned capacity

of 1,704 despite a recent extension, with

1,786 pupils on its roll.

Most of Blaire's schoolmates from St

Angela's primary in Darnley go to St

Ninian's, even though the primary is

administered Glasgow, through a deal

brokered when Glasgow City council

succeeded Strathclyde region in 1996.

Then, the two authorities agreed pupils

from St Angela's, and the recently closed

St Louise's in Arden, could go to St

Ninian's.

Last October, East Ren began

consultation as part of a process to remove

the area associated with St Angela's from

the automatic catchment area for St

Ninian's. Lord Uist's decision forces ERC

to abandon this.

How to respond to that legal order will

now be discussed at an emergency

meeting, expected to be held on Monday,

by the education committee.

Last night an ERC spokesman told The

Extra: "We have received the judgment

and are considering it".