A radical shake-up of Highland schools could see younger and older primary pupils being separated and told to attend classes at different times of the day.
A senior councillor tabled the controversial idea of dividing the school day -with one age group attending in the morning and another in the afternoon – to cope with a looming capacity crisis.
But the move was dismissed last night as “ludicrous” and a “Mad Hatter’s idea” by parents and opposition politicians.
The local authority’s Budget Leader Bill Fernie raised the plan as one for colleagues to “mull over” this Christmas as a solution to a deepening capital spending crisis.
He proposed to have separate start times of 7.30am and 1pm, for example, to make better use of existing buildings, rather than constructing new schools for which there is currently a dearth of funding.
It follows a council projection last week which suggested school rolls in some parts of the Highlands would reach “crisis point” within 15 years.
All five Inverness secondary schools are expected to be oversubscribed within a decade as a result of new housing development and population growth.
Councillor Fernie, the resources committee, chairman, said: “Our schools are underused. Lots of countries use schools in two different ways – morning school and afternoon school. At one stroke you double the capacity of the existing buildings.”
Putting it in a business context, he said: “If your buildings were empty for more than half the day, you’d be out of business.”
He proposed separate “morning” and “afternoon” primary school days with running times of, for example, 7.30am-12.30pm, and 1pm-6pm.
Mr Fernie reminded parents that the existing Highland school day is longer than the statutory requirement.
However, in recent years, an option of reducing the school day as a budget saving measure sparked a storm of public protest.
He stressed that it would only be with the cooperation and willingness of parents and teachers, and that there would be extensive public consultation.
“We have a hugely pressing problem,” he said.
“When we’ve got a capital programme we can’t really afford and we’re desperately needing new schools to accommodate the increasing numbers of pupils – and we’ve also got the problem that several of our rural schools are not fit for purpose, being in the bottom categories – we need to act.”
“When you look ahead, the number of new schools we’re requiring is quite substantial. Some Inverness school are already capped due to over-demand. It’s a huge and growing problem.”
His idea would require more staff, possibly under the same head teacher.
But Mr Fernie said additional staff would be required anyway to teach the growing school population.
He added: “I know a lot of folk may think this is just pie in the sky but it would solve a lot of our problems if we were able to utilise the buildings in such a way.”
Craig Dutton, chairman of the parent council at Milton of Leys Primary in Inverness, where demand on school rolls is intense, said: “It’s a radical thought process.
“In principle it could possibly work, from a business point of view, in maximising the buildings. But in terms of the kids themselves and parents, it could be hugely disruptive.
“It doesn’t make sense that a school sits vacant for so much of the day but there are possibly other ways of utilising the premises for adult education in the evening rather than making two daytime school sessions.”
The idea was instantly dismissed by Inverness SNP councillor Ken Gowans, who has consistently raised concerns about the pressures on school rolls.
He said: “It’s a Mad Hatter’s idea. This ludicrous suggestion by Bill Fernie is the reason he is chair of resources and not education.
“The fact he has not been backed up by the chair of education is somewhat reassuring. Think of the disruption it would cause families. It would be chaotic for child care.”
