Park Mains High School update

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Park Mains Update

Dear parent or carer,

I am writing to update you on the work we are doing to increase future school capacity at Park Mains High School, as the new development at Dargavel grows over the years ahead. Below is the work we’ve done so far.

Park Mains High School

Park Mains High School continues to operate well, and is within its current capacity of just under 1,600 as it stands. New modular classrooms are due to be installed during the next school year to provide some extra flexibility for the school. 

However, we know the roll will rise in future as pupils move through from primary school. The existing building was designed to be extended if ever needed, and there is space in the school grounds to accommodate this. We are proposing to start work now to plan a permanent extension for 400 pupils, which will take the total capacity to around 2,000. 

We are asking councillors to give us permission to start this work when the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board meets next week. Timelines for the extension to be built are still to be confirmed but we will of course keep you updated as the work moves forward. 

Our projections for Park Mains are based on a range of data, including the numbers of pupils currently in the feeder primaries and nurseries. Over the years ahead we will continue to monitor our projections against this data as it evolves, and adjust our plans if needed. 

As part of that planning, we will carefully consider all issues relating to transport and access to the school, and we will engage with the Park Mains Parent Council and wider parent body around that. 

Primary school capacity

We are also writing to parents at Dargavel and Bishopton Primaries with an update for them this week. Those of you with younger children at those schools will also receive that, but to keep everyone up to date, I have summarised the main points below: 

  • As you will know, the current Dargavel Primary will not be able to accommodate the number of pupils expected as the development grows in the years ahead. We are installing six new modular classrooms over the summer, which will ensure capacity for every child registered for the 2023/24 school year
  • However the school cannot be extended further and it is likely it will not have capacity for every pupil due to start Primary 1 from August 2024 onwards. We expect we will have to limit the P1 intake to 75 a year. Should the school be oversubscribed, we will apply our admissions policy, giving priority to children with a sibling already in the school. Any children who do not get a place will be directed to Bishopton Primary, where there is capacity 
  • The long-term solution is to build a second primary school in the Dargavel area, and work is now under way to plan that. We remain in discussion with the landowner (BAE) over the best site for the new school. 

Ongoing engagement

We will continue to keep you updated as our plans move forward. If you have any queries in the meantime, please contact us at: dargavelcs@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Kind regards  

Steven Quinn  

Director of Children’s Services, Renfrewshire Council