Efforts to overhaul school catchment area maps across Aberdeenshire will take another step forward this week.
Public consultations are already underway in Peterhead and Fraserburgh, and now parents in Portlethen will be asked how the boundaries can be redrawn in their town.
Unlike the two Buchan communities, Portlethen is in line for a new school after a population spurt left the two existing primaries overcrowded and parents demanding action.
In June 2013, councillors agreed to finance a new £12.9million school in the Hillside area of the town.
Councillor Isobel Davidson, chairwoman of the local authority’s education committee, said the council attached particular importance to providing the best educational experience for all of the pupils in its schools and regularly reviewed provision across Aberdeenshire.
“This consultation gives parents and local stakeholders the opportunity to have their say on proposed changes to the school zones in the Portlethen area,” she added.
Plans for a third Portlethen school were shelved in 2010, but the urgent need for it was highlighted again in 2013 after council officers revised the capacity of the town’s two primary schools, Fishermoss and Portlethen as part of a wider review.
They realised the latter was already over-capacity – with the roll expected to rise by more than 300 by 2019.
In a report to the education committee, council planning chief Stephen Archer said: “While this housing is zoned for Portlethen Primary School, many of the house owners in Hillside bought their properties on the understanding that there would be primary school provision built in the Hillside area.”
A public meeting will be held at Portlethen Academy on Wednesday, January 28.
Elsewhere, the local authority’s latest pupil number projections show there is enough space across the Peterhead and Fraserburgh networks respectively.
Efforts are being made to ease the burden on overcrowded facilities by zoning new pupils to schools with more space.
Aberdeenshire Council has assured parents in all three towns that no child would have to move schools if the catchment area reshuffle is approved. Only new pupils or those coming to school for the first time would be affected.