Bishopbriggs Academy second bottom of East Dunbartonshire schools

In a comprehensive guide to Scottish schools performance, in today's Herald, Bishopbriggs Academy is second from bottom of the East Dunbartonshire table.



Only Kirkintilloch had poorer results.

Bishopbriggs Academy is the product of the amalgamation of Bishopbriggs High School and Thomas Muir High School. Read the rest of this blog then decide if this amalgamation was for the benefit of pupils or the council...

To determine the Herald "league tables", they took the benchmark figures used by employers and universities – the percentage of pupils passing five or more Highers at grades A to C by the end of S5.

On the BBC website the 2002 results are below.

Bishopbriggs High School are second top of this table - Thomas Muir is second bottom.



Check all the results on the Herald website here...

No Profit in PFI changes warning

Carillion warns Scotland over PFI changes

Construction giant Carillion has warned Scotland against pressing ahead with plans to replace the traditional private finance initiative with a non-profit making model.

Robin Herzberg, managing director of Carillion’s private finance division, told the construction press that the new approach “doesn’t sound very attractive”.

The proposals as they stand would not interest a profit-making firm like Carillion, he said.

Longer term, Scotland’s ruling Scottish Nationalist Party wants to ditch PFI in favour of the Scottish Futures Trust, a non-profit making company that would funnel private investment into state projects.

From: Public Private Finance

Hidden £65m PPP Schools bill

Surprise, Surprise...

Ministers claim they have inherited a hidden £65m liability for privately-financed school projects that the previous Labour-LibDem administration failed to budget for in full.

...by 2010-11 will be £165m as the true cost of the exponential rise in the value contracts has become clear.

These were only £17m last year but leapt to £48m this year before reaching £137m next year and a total of £165m by the final year of this parliament, all for projects that have already been built, are under construction, or have been approved.

More from The Herald

Never mind, just think of the money the council will get from selling the Bishopbriggs High School site plus the 'surplus' land at Thomas Muir and Turnbull.

Parents meeting for Bishopbriggs Academy

Forthcoming meeting on Monday 17th September at 7.45pm where parents can get an update about the latest plans for Bishopbriggs Academy from the council's PPP team.

Bishopbriggs High Site

This site is not suitable for a school!

Jo Swinson and the Lib-Dems are asking the people of Bishopbriggs what they would like on the Bishopbriggs High School site.

None of the options include a school - exactly what the people agreed to the first time the Lib-Dems asked!

What's the point if their opinion is to be ignored as previous?

PPP deals cost Scots £22bn

Scots will have to pay a "phenomenal" £22.3bn over the next four decades to fund all the Public Private Partnership projects across the country - around £4500 for every Scot.

New figures released by the Scottish Executive have revealed the true cost of the 102 contracts for the privately built schools, prisons and hospitals which, in some cases, will be privately run.

The PPP statistics highlight the legacy of taxpayer debt the new SNP executive has inherited from the previous administration.

Professor Allyson Pollock, head of the Centre for International Public Health Policy at Edinburgh University, said: "This is a phenomenal amount of debt being incurred and stored up, not only for this generation but for future generations too. Others have noted the ways in which we are mortgaging our children's futures.



"The high costs of PFI squeezes expenditure on public services spending. In health, there is very good research evidence of the ways in which PFI drains money from public services and as a result services are cut and closed to pay the PFI charges and profits of the banks and shareholders."

A spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party said: "When you break it down it is good value for money."

From The herald

LibDem take a beating...

The LibDems, who voted for the 'cheaper option', for Bishopbriggs Academy have been wiped off the face of the new council at East Dunbartonshire.

They could ignore the public when it came to consultation but they couldn't when it came to voting for their job.

East Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrates on May 4th 2007

John Morrison (Council Leader) - Gone
Margaret McNaughton - Gone
Gordon Macdonald - Gone
Fiona Risk - Gone
Pat Steel (provost) - Gone
Julia Southcott - Gone
Robert Duncan - Gone
Fiona Callison - Gone
Cathy McInnes - Gone
Eric Gotts - Survived
Duncan Cummings - Survived
Vaughan Moody - Survived

Of the Twelve LibDem councillors only three survived the rest were wiped out by the voters.

Cathy McInnes who came fifth out of six candidates for the Strathkelvin and Bearsden seat took a double beating.

The results can be found here Strathkelvin and Bearsden


And the council results here

Jo Swinson - take note

Kirky Herald Lib Dems Binned

Bats at St Ninian's

I understand that St Ninian's cannot be demolished as bats have been found.

Will this delay the Academy - only time will tell....

We get what we deserve...

The people of Bishopbriggs will get what they deserve after the elections in May.

Legislation states that when two schools amalgamate an election for a new school board should take place as soon as possible.

Almost NINE MONTHS later we are still waiting.

It also states that each candidate should produce UP TO 250 words presenting their case. Yet Ken Low produces more and that is accepted.

Read this site and then decide if these people are representing your interests....

I will not be updating it in the future - you get what you deserve....

Prisoners treated better than our children?

Dr Gordon Low wrote a letter to the Bishopbriggs Herald highlighting the way the Council have treated our children compared to how prisoners at Low Moss prison are treated.

During last year's public inquiry into the proposed new prison at Low Moss, Scottish Prison Service (SPS) were at pains to stress the urgency of building prisons to meet the rising prisoner population.
So it's a bit surprising now to find that they can manage quite happily for the next two years with one fewer prison. (Bishopbriggs Herald, 28th February)
But then, the SPS would tell us that they're seeking to accommodate twice the number of inmates in a state-of-the-art complex, complete with its own dedicated sports facilities and requiring the flexibility afforded by the utilisation of the whole available site.
So presumably the site has to be cleared before building work can begin, as trying to construct the new prison round the existing buildings would hopelessly compromise the design.
And of course, the SPS would probably consider it unreasonable to expect prisoners to have to live in a building site for two years.
Fair enough, perhaps. Yet it does seem just a bit ironic that the latter approach is exactly the construction methodology being employed by East Dunbartonshire Council to accommodate twice the school role at the new Bishopbriggs Academy, and with exactly the consequences the SPS are avoiding at Low Moss.
And that's before the council sells off part of the school site to the developers.
It wouldn't be good enough for the prisoners (and who would argue the point?) but apparently it's good enough for our school pupils.

Schools project to be sold off?

Schools contracts may be up for grabs in Amec sell-off.

It could be the first of many sell off by chief executive Samir Brikho, the Swedish-Lebanese businessman who runs the company.

Samir may sell businesses involved in building and facilities services and focus the company on core areas such as oil and gas, minerals and metals mining and the nuclear and wind energy industries.

He added that plans were already in place for significant cost savings.

Read the full story here in The Sunday Herald

Maybe they think the SNP will win in May...

SNP will build new schools but not for profit!

The SNP have said they are committed to building new schools in East Dunbartonshire but not under PPP.

The SNP would use a NOT for profit trust scheme, where benefits are ploughed back into education rather that being paid out to contractors.

Where as the Liberal Democrats are committed to selling land and paying developers to run the schools for years to come.

PPP has already been in the news when running costs have soared in several projects.

The Labour party had said the SNP would not built the schools but this has been denied by SNP candidate Dr Robin Easton.

Council leader John Morrison said it was insulting to the public to say that PPP was anything but a success...

That would be the same public who's advice the Liberal Democrats chose to ignore then Mr Morrison?

School Board hang on by their teeth...

The School amalgamated in August 2006 the School Board act states that election for a new board should commence at that time.

NINE MONTHS later we could have that School Board. But they remain - backed by the council, who should have instigated the change, laid down in legislation - but they didn't. You can only ask yourself why after you've read this site.

Check the school web site for the 'latest' :-) information...

Completed ballot papers should be returned in the envelope provided, to the Head Teacher by 3.00pm on 23rd April, 2007.

Website

No minutes have been posted.....

You can download the Parental Involvement letter here

Just keeping you informed.

Teachers can't find jobs...

Interesting artical from the Herald.

Some of the comments blame PPP projects for building smaller schools to hold more pupils (where have I heard that before).

Councils saving money on Education to finance their pet projects?

Intresting reading...

Lack of outdoor sports facilities

Anyone listen to Roger Black on Radio 4?

He's trying to get children fit at school and he's shocked by the lack of outdoor facilities at schools.

The excuse is the lack of space and land available.

What do East Dunbartonshire do?

They have the land for these facilities but in almost every school site in the project they chose to sell part of that land off for financial gain.

You can listen here.

Executive to decide on planning application

Holyrood will have final say on school plan Evening Times

MINISTERS are to rule on a controversial plan to build houses next to a new school.

A planning application by housing firm Amec for houses next to Bishopbriggs Academy has been referred to the Scottish Executive.

Bishopbriggs High and Thomas Muir High are merging as part of a £100million PPP plan to build six secondaries in East Dunbartonshire.

Bishopbriggs Academy will be built on the site of the former Thomas Muir High school in Wester Cleddens Road, Woodhill.

But campaigners have voiced concerns over the loss of green space adjoining the site which, they say, should be for sports facilities instead of housing.

However, East Dunbartonshire council leader John Morrison said: "The new Bishopbriggs Academy will have better sports facilities than ever before."

Nice one John - there never has been a Bishopbriggs Academy so how can it "have better sports facilities than ever before?"

No matter how you 'spin it' the land, that is already used for schools, would be better continuing to be used for the new school. But then that wouldn't make MONEY - would it!

Let's see how the figures add up when this PPP project is over.

Time to do to the Liberal Democrats what they have done to Bishopbriggs High School and the children of Bishopbriggs

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Comment from and old pupil

Just found your blog and it's amazing.

I lived in the briggs and went to the High school and found the information here totally awesome!

Why are the parents letting this happen?

The new head and the council are like pals and the school move is a lib dem doing!

If Mr Waddell was in charge then this would not happen - maybe that's why the dumped him!

None are so blind as those that cannot see - selling off land and placing the school on the only land that was left as they use the old Thomas Muir for St Ninian's - are you people stupid?

The council then grant planning with loads of condition! Try to get an extension with one thing wrong and see the difference.

As for the school Board - were they appointed by the council? Looks like it to me. The co-chair works for them - how bad is that?

Great blog keep it up. I now live in the US but love my roots.

I cannot believe how stupid the people of Bishopbriggs are to let this happen under their noses.

Thanks James and power to your elbow.

Join the torchlight vigil

MSP Jean Turner is expected to attend the final torchlight vigil opposing plans to sell the so-called 'surplus' land at the still to be built Bishopbriggs Academy.

The following night Councillors will meet to decide the OUTLINE planning application for this land.

The vigil will start at 7 pm and last for around 20 minutes, on Wester Cleddens Road beside St Helen's PS.

Donald Macdonald
Chair
Woodhill Residents Group

Where were the Interim School Board?

Probably the most important meeting with regard to the new Bishopbriggs Academy took place in Tom Johnston House.

Where were the Interim School Board?

Only one member of the Board, Ken Low, attended and only to speak ON BEHALF of the developers.

As for the other members... Your guess is as good as mine - they were NOT at the meeting.

Over fifty members of the public did attend the council planning meeting.

It was important to them - was it important to the school board?