Parents in Moray who have not already made their views known over plans for a radical revamp of schools in the region are being warned that this weekend will mark the closure of the Moray Council survey.
Almost 1500 responses have been received to the online survey that came at the end of a review of every school in the region, launched last year when it had been noted £70million was required to bring existing buildings up to standard.
Moray Council commissioned the independent study with Caledonian Enterprise hired to look at a sustainable long-term framework for the future of education in Moray.
The result of their deliberations was the creation of ‘campus’ style school groups covering education from three years to 18 years. That would mean the closure of a number of rural schools as well as Milne’s High School in Fochabers and Anderson’s Primary in Forres.
As the second stage of the process the online survey results will play a central role in the decision-making process as will feedback gained from a series of workshops beginning next month and involving pupils, staff and representatives from community groups.
Chairing the cross-party steering group at Moray Council is Councillor Anne Skene. She said: “We’ve had an excellent number of responses and comments are of a high standard, but considering we have 12,000 pupils in education across Moray there are clearly many people concerned with education that have not yet had their say.
“I would urge the silent majority to give their views – there is a lot of work to do before we arrive at a point where any proposals can be firmed up.”
Background information and the survey itself can be found on the Moray Council Website.