PARENTS are worried that Musselburgh Grammar School will become a “second-class establishment” if a new high school is built at Wallyford as planned.

A scathing attack has been launched on East Lothian Council by the parent council of Musselburgh Grammar School for the way it has consulted on radical secondary education plans for the area.

It is calling for the local authority’s consultation exercise on a proposed second high school for Musselburgh to be halted, claiming that the process has been “mismanaged”.

And it has raised fears that a new high school at Wallyford would leave Musselburgh Grammar School as a “a second-class establishment”.

East Lothian Council has described the parent council’s comments, outlined in a letter, as “very concerning and neither fair nor accurate”.

The parent council is urging that the consultation process be independently investigated and “re-run properly” with more information on the school options. This would, it claimed, enable parents and the general public to be fully informed before making a decision on whether or not to support or oppose the council’s proposals.

Last week, the council finished consulting on its preferred plan to create a £35 million high school at Wallyford 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 Wallyford Primary School and Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School. Pupils from the other primary schools in the area would continue to attend Musselburgh Grammar School.

Other options mooted instead of an additional secondary school are a new S4-S6 senior school on a separate site; or a new, enlarged Musselburgh Grammar on a new site.

The parent council is opposing the second school plan, favouring a single school, as it is against dividing the community.

It has sent its formal response to the council’s chief executive Angela Leitch, depute chief executive Alex McCrorie, head of education Fiona Robertson, and Bill Maxwell and Maureen Mallon from Education Scotland.

The group stated: “We have serious misgivings about the validity of the consultation process, especially given the magnitude of the decisions to be made and the long-term effects these will have on education and the community in and around Musselburgh.

“Given the length of time East Lothian Council has known that a public consultation is required, it has not conducted a proper and full consultation process in a timely manner, one where the appropriate consultees and the general public should have been given the full facts and figures to enable them to form their own views on this important decision. “Instead, it would appear that a last-minute, rushed and flawed consultation process has been undertaken, one which is aimed at ticking the required statutory boxes to the minimum level.”

It claimed that the council had “failed to run an open and honest consultation process” and “had not provided sufficient information in a timely manner to give full confidence that the proposal is sound and is the best option for future generations and for the community as a whole”. The parent council felt a longer consultation should be carried out in order to fully engage with the public and provide people with all the facts and figures relating to the options.

The group highlighted “a lack of clarity” surrounding the financial analysis to support the council’s preferred plan for a second high school at Wallyford.

The parent council stated: “Given that East Lothian Council’s original preferred option was for a single secondary school on the Goshen Farm site until this site was excluded from the Local Development Plan following a decision by councillors late in November 2015, it is difficult to understand the financial case presented now by the council which appears to justify the additional school option.”

It also criticised the council’s questionnaire, saying there was no “verification” of respondents, and only one of nine questions was “pertinent” to the options.

“This question merely asked for an opinion on supporting the council’s proposal or not. No attempt is made to elicit views on the other options,” it added.

The parent council feared that the existing Musselburgh Grammar School would end up as “a second-class establishment” without any commitment from the council to invest in it, and ensure that educational facilities matched that of the new school.

A council spokesperson said: “The letter from Musselburgh Grammar Parent Council is very concerning and is neither fair nor accurate. The consultation was conducted in line with both national and the council’s own consultation guidelines. We have, in fact, extended the consultation period for parent councils that requested this. We have advertised widely, held public meetings, met with local groups, including local parent councils, and have also spoken to local people, pupils and staff. People were able to feedback face-to-face, by phone, online, by email or letter. We have provided a wide range of information in clear and accessible formats so that people have had the opportunity to weigh all the options.

“Most distressing of all is the allegation that Musselburgh Grammar would become a second-class establishment. This is simply not the case. The point of the consultation is to ensure that we can continue to provide high-quality education in conducive settings for all children and young people in the Musselburgh area and, indeed, East Lothian as a whole.

“We will be seeking an urgent meeting with Musselburgh Grammar Parent Council representatives.”