A group of north-east parents are pushing to save a school from closure with just days until a local authority consultation on the controversial move closes.
Aberdeenshire Council is considering amalgamating Dales Park and Meethill schools in Peterhead.
The two could be combined into a single primary school at the Peterhead Community Campus, which is expected to be built by 2025.
If the merger does go ahead pupils would be relocated to the new facility at Kinmundy.
But the Meethill parent council are against the idea and have been campaigning to persuade the council to rethink the merger.
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They have concerns about bringing the primaries together with road safety and staffing among their central fears.
Aberdeenshire Council’s consultation on the proposal to merge the two schools closes on Friday.
Gillian Ritchie, 36, has two children at the school and is demanding more information about the proposal.
She also revealed the pandemic has hit their campaign with a planned leaflet unable to go ahead.
Gillian said: “We first found out about this in 2019 when Nicola Sturgeon came to visit.
“We feel we have legitimate questions that have not been answered. Things like will there be separate entrances and different start times?
“These are the answers we need before we can support it. But we feel we have been dismissed with any questions we do have.
“We’ve put forward other ideas to the council like merging Meethill with Burnhaven but they don’t want to entertain that idea.
“Covid has affected us too because we had leaflets ready to go out to residents but we can’t do that. A lot of the residents who can see the school from their front doors have told us they didn’t even know about the plans.”
Campaigner Margaret Morgan said “nobody wants” Meethill primary to close its doors and join with Dales Park.
She said: “We are against the merger. Road safety is a concern and they are saying they will sell the Meethill site. It will mean the staff will have to move on too.
“Meethill School is at the heart of the community and it won’t be if it is moved.
“Nobody wants it and a high percentage of parents from the school have said no. In our survey 87% of respondents were against it.”
An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said: “The proposal to merge Dales Park and Meethill Primary Schools arose from wider consultation with the community on the proposed Peterhead Community Campus.
“To ensure a holistic approach was adopted, council officers engaged widely to explore ways to improve educational and social opportunities for all children and young people and the wider Peterhead community. Engagement with parents, carers and staff at both schools was an essential part of this process.
“Advantages of the merged primary school may include a state-of-the-art building, opportunities for the latest technology to be used in classrooms enhancing learning, increased use of space for learning, access to leisure facilities available at the community campus site and collaboration with the new academy.
“Pupils from Meethill Primary School might benefit from a range of resources that are not currently available to them including a sensory room, dark room, nurture and life skills areas and disabled toilets and parking.
“A consultation into the merger of both schools is currently open until Friday, February 26. We would encourage parents and carers in Peterhead to submit their views so their opinions can be considered.”
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