Overpacked Aberdeen schools could soon have to split siblings up due to a lack of space, it is feared.
“Frustrated” parents are already having to send children to schools further away from their homes because their local one is too full.
And now, city education chiefs have warned there’s a danger their kids will be squeezed out of even attending the same school.
Our in-depth coverage looks at:
- Aberdeen’s school roll “bulging” could force city chiefs to break up families
- Scottish ministers to hold crisis talks with council bosses this month
- The Home Office and city universities clash over the contribution of overseas students
- Aberdeen’s refugee response ‘something to be proud of’
Aberdeen schools: Overseas students ‘by far’ the biggest reason behind roll woes
There has been a “significant rise” of 10% in the number of children in education in Aberdeen since 2019.
And international students bringing families with them as they come to study is “by far” the biggest contributing factor.
But Aberdeen’s huge effort to make space for those fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine is also leaving rolls “bulging”.
Around 0.67% of the city’s population – around 6.68 people in every 1,000 – is made up of people seeking humanitarian aid.
The council’s interim children’s services director, Eleanor Sheppard, said: “Very much appropriately we have rolled out the red carpet to those seeking humanitarian aid.
“We have done really well with that in Aberdeen, actually twice as much as the national average and well ahead of other local authorities.
“It is something to be very proud of.”
Aberdeen is improving hundreds of homes to make space for resettled Ukrainians.
So far, around 320 long-empty council homes have been refurbished, funded by a £6.2 million Scottish Government grant.
Approximately 125 homes have been taken up by Ukrainian households.
Aberdeen education boss: ‘Difficulties’ in placing siblings at same school
Both national governments are being approached for help as Aberdeen appears “a real outlier,” Ms Sheppard added. The two universities are also involved in talks.
Elsewhere, other councils are reporting falling school rolls.
Even in Aberdeen, there are outliers to the rising trend – with some of the more empty schools in the Northfield Academy catchment area at risk of closure.
But on the whole, city officials are struggling to find places for kids in their nearest schools.
Director Sheppard said bosses are “increasingly unable” to place children in schools that can’t be expanded.
“This is leading to some frustration for families,” she noted.
“Officers are concerned that it will continue to be difficult to place all children from one family within one school community.”
Already, parents moving to new parts of the city are struggling to have their children placed at the same school.
Chairman of Airyhall Parent Council Michael Crawford told councillors of those issues on Thursday.
Hundreds more children in Aberdeen now than when the school year began
Between March and April, another 106 pupils were added to the “continuously increasing” Aberdeen school rolls. Around 90 of those joined primary and nursery classes.
Throughout the school year from September, more than 1,000 youngsters have begun attending nursery or school in Aberdeen, taking the total pupil count to 29,852.
Between January and March alone, 234 children were placed in city primaries and secondaries.
In a single week last August, 30 children – enough to fill a whole class – joined one Aberdeen school.
Around that time, as many as 800 youngsters arrived in the city to the “surprise” of education chiefs.
What’s being done about Aberdeen’s ‘bulging’ school roll?
News of the problems in Aberdeen has made it to the halls of Holyrood.
Senior Scottish Government officials are primed to meet with city top brass later this month for talks on the “important issue”.
A spokesman told The P&J: “Ministers are aware of the current pressure on school rolls in Aberdeen and the efforts the council is making to deliver its statutory responsibility to ensure all children can access a school place.”
The reminder that overall responsibility rests with the city to provide school places might indicate the tone of that meeting.
It was a line also echoed by Robert Gordon University (RGU) vice-principal Lynn Kilbride.
Out of the two universities in Aberdeen, RGU was specifically highlighted by the council as students pack into properties near the Garthdee campus.
“Whilst school provision is the responsibility of the local authority, we are sympathetic to the challenges Aberdeen City Council is experiencing and are working closely with them to support international students,” Professor Kilbride told us.
Could UK Government crackdown on overseas student families help Aberdeen’s struggling schools?
The trouble in Aberdeen could be seen as emblematic of a nationwide problem.
The Press And Journal asked the Department for Education what relief might be offered to ease the strain in Aberdeen.
Education is devolved to Holyrood but Ms Sheppard had specifically said she was speaking with both governments.
And so it was a Home Office spokeswoman who came back us, citing an “unprecedented rise” in visas for the dependents of students.
She added: “We have carried out the toughest ever action by government to reduce migration, including removing the right for most international students to bring family members.”
The ban on overseas students – other than postgraduates on research programmes – obtaining visas for their dependents will begin in January.
While the council is managing to cope with placement requests just now, in-house predictions are the stream of incoming families could reach new levels in the coming months.
Aberdeen University stresses the value of incoming overseas students
Aberdeen University’s say on the city’s struggles clashed in tone with the latest Conservative rhetoric from Whitehall.
A spokeswoman said the ancient institution “continues to work closely with the city council to ensure that students and their families are actively supported as part of communities in Aberdeen”.
She then highlighted a recent Universities UK study which showed the total net impact of international students.
Looking at the Aberdeen North and South Westminster constituencies in 2018-19, their positive contribution was valued £206 million.
The university spokeswoman added: “International students make a valuable cultural and intellectual contribution to our communities.”
Post-Covid north-east economy also causing kids to stay in school
But the struggles with the Aberdeen school rolls are not caused only by incomers.
Changing economic circumstances in the north-east are continuing to impact city school rolls too.
After the Covid pandemic, more youngsters have opted to stay in secondary school for their senior years.
On top of that, fewer families are sending their children to private schools.
There are also higher numbers of pupils leaving independent education to return to city-run schools.
Despite the challenges posed by the increasing school rolls, Ms Sheppard highlighted the high numbers of international students presented significant “opportunities” too.
‘Difficulty’ in providing places at same Aberdeen school to siblings
Education convener Martin Greig warned continued increases on the school roll are “not sustainable”.
But he hailed the “quite remarkable” effort Aberdeen had made to welcome those fleeing conflict at home.
“Aberdeen is an international, welcoming, city,” the Lib Dem councillor said.
But he stressed the importance of continuing talks with the universities and the summit with Scottish ministers at the end of the month.
“A 10% rise is a lot and we have schools experiencing difficulties in placing all children from their area.
“It is desirable for pupils from the same family to go to the same school.
“But when the roll is so high it is going to be difficult to ensure that and there are ongoing issues.”
The education convener said it was another difficulty to contend with amid continued “diminishing” funding for public services.
Despite all that, Mr Greig praised the “high quality of education” on offer in Aberdeen.
“We have highly committed professionals doing their best to provide caring and supportive learning environments across the city.
“There is some comfort in that.”
But multiplying numbers will leave education bosses calculating tough sums. The prospect of dividing families is unlikely to prove popular.
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