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Gregory's Girl school Abronhill High 'to close' | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Abronhill High - the secondary school immortalised in Bill Forsyth's film Gregory's Girl - looks set to close. | |
Councillors in North Lanarkshire backed plans on Wednesday to close the school at the end of the 2014 academic term. | |
Pupils will transfer to Cumbernauld High, which will be replaced itself by a new school campus. | |
The decision - still to be ratified by the full council - aims to address the falling school roll and realise annual savings of more than £1.3m annually. | |
The decision to close Abronhill was taken by the council's learning and leisure services committee. | |
'Empty spaces' | |
Convener Cllr Jim Logue said: "The fundamental reasons for making these proposals have not altered, namely - the schools are hugely under-occupied. | |
"Abronhill and Cumbernauld High Schools alone are sitting with a combined surplus of around 950 empty places. | |
"We need to make savings to allow a new school to be built." | |
Cllr Logue said the decision paved the way for a "new school and community facility to be built" that would be "fit for the modern curriculum". | |
Under the original proposal, Abronhill would have closed this year, with pupils transferring to Cumbernauld in August. | |
Following a consultation, which widely opposed the closure of Abronhill, the closure has been put back to 2014. | |
Cllr Logue added: "Of course, we never take decisions like this lightly, and I would like to commend and thank everyone who participated in the consultation. | |
"We've listened to all the concerns raised and that's why we've given an extra year before the rationalisation will be implemented." | |
North Lanarkshire Council said that it would be investing £70m in "two state-of-the-art secondary schools will be built in Cumbernauld" - the replacement Cumbernauld High and the new Greenfaulds High School campus. | |
The decision to close Abronhill is expected to be ratified at a meeting of the full council at about 16:00. | |
'Dark Day' | |
It is possible, however, that Scottish ministers may decide to call in the closure plans for review due to the level of controversy in the local community. | |
Scott Campbell, a spokesman for the Save Abronhill High School campaign, described the decision as "a dark day". | |
"We are very anger that the councillors, who voted for the closure, didn't support the unprecedented response of the community's rejection of the proposals, in the council's consultation," he said. | |
"We have previously warned that we are the community, the majority, the voters and, ultimately, their pay masters. | |
"This decision will not be forgotten - it is a dark day for local democracy, Abronhill and the individual councillors who favoured Abronhill High's closure." | |
Jamie Hepburn, SNP MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, branded the decision to close Abronhill as "an absolute disgrace". | |
"North Lanarkshire Council have once again put aside the wishes of the community in order to pursue their own agenda," he said. | |
"They have let the people of Cumbernauld down, the very people they were elected to represent." | |
Many of the exterior scenes for Gregory's Girl were filmed outside Abronhill High. | Many of the exterior scenes for Gregory's Girl were filmed outside Abronhill High. |
The much-loved film starred John Gordon Sinclair as Gregory, Dee Hepburn as Dorothy and Clare Grogan as Susan. | The much-loved film starred John Gordon Sinclair as Gregory, Dee Hepburn as Dorothy and Clare Grogan as Susan. |