FEARS that building a second high school for the Musselburgh area could result in “unfriendly rivalry” were raised at a public meeting.

About 50 people – including parents, councillors, community councillors and representatives from the Musselburgh Area Partnership – attended the debate, on the proposed £35 million new high school at Wallyford, in the Brunton Hall on Monday evening.

East Lothian Council is consulting on a plan to create a second high school for Musselburgh from 2020 to cope with the huge surge in new housing in the area.

It would take pupils from the eastern side of the Musselburgh ‘cluster’ – including from Wallyford Primary School and Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School.

Pupils from the other primary schools in the town would continue to attend Musselburgh Grammar School.

Roger Knox, a retired education lecturer and a former depute provost of East Lothian, said at the meeting: “I wonder how much consideration has been taken of the division [of the town’s youngsters]?

“What we have is the old council ward five [Windsor Park, Levenhall and the Wimpey housing estate] which was identified as one of the areas of multiple deprivation, along with Wallyford, which was identified similarly, being hived off from the rest of the area.

“It seems to me that the rivalry between the [two high school] establishments may end up not being one which is too healthy. There are plenty examples around, not just in Scotland and the UK but the rest of the world, where conflict is perhaps too strong a word for what ensues, but unfriendly rivalry may be a better description. Is there any way that this could be alleviated?”

Fiona Robertson, head of education at East Lothian Council, said: “We have to bear in mind that we have a community which is unknown to us in a sense. The need for an additional secondary school is because of the plan for housing developments in the emerging Development Plan.

“We have got a new community and it is how we work together in relation to that, joining these communities together. There are examples across Scotland where education is playing a critical role in that community cohesion, and we would have that as part of the whole development of the new additional secondary school.

“We would involve the community and partnerships. Headteachers are very keen that it will remain as one large cluster with all the headteachers working together.

“We would look at joint badging of school logos and school signs, while retaining your own identity, for example, Musselburgh Grammar School’s own identity.”

Planning permission has been granted for 1,450 homes at the newly named St Clements Well site to the south, east and west of Wallyford, along with sports facilities, a supermarket and business units.

Other options mooted instead of an additional high school are a new S4-6 senior school on a separate site; or a new, enlarged Musselburgh Grammar on a new site.

Liz Shaw, corporate finance manage at the local authority, said the capital cost of a single secondary school for the whole of Musselburgh would be £65million – £30m more than the ‘additional new school’ option.

This could be offset by £12 million in potential savings if the council bought itself out of the Grammar’s Public Private Partnership contract, which would have to be funded from cash reserves.

Bernard Harkins, a Pinkie parent, asked what transport links would support the new school.

He was told that the council’s transportation officers planned to compile a Route to School Analysis Report looking at public transport connections, route safety, accident history, traffic conditions and pedestrian crossings.

One Burgh Primary parent asked if there was any money allocated to update the existing Grammar.

Eddie Reid, of the council’s property department, said that about £100,000 to £400,000 a year was spent on the school.

In 2016/17, £310,000 would be spent on life cycle work including roof work to the assembly and games halls, timber floor refurbishment, classroom decoration and new furniture, and kitchen improvements.

But one woman said: “I think as a parent with a child at the Burgh, I feel there is a sense for us that we were offered something new and shiny and it has been taken off the table again.”

Ms Robertson said: “The key resource is the teacher in the classroom and the school creates the ethos of the community within that school building.

“I hear what people are saying about Musselburgh Grammar School in relation to not wanting to be left behind and feeling that your child might have a lower level of quality of education but that’s not the case. The quality of provision within that school will be as high quality as that in a new build.”

Chris Knights, of Musselburgh Area Partnership, said the meeting had heard “misgivings” about the low level of responses to the pre-consultation and that the present proposal felt like a “fait accompli”.

He asked the council officials: “How will you demonstrate that this process has credibility and the views expressed in it will be taken seriously?”

Ms Robertson replied: “We have been very open in relation to discussions and level of meetings we have had. We have engaged with parent councils, community councils and parents. We are listening.

"We will write a final report that takes account of the views which will go to the council to ultimately make a decision.”