Aberdeenshire Council’s Learning Estates Team has been tasked with rezoning across all networks in Aberdeenshire, where school catchment areas have not been reviewed for some time.
It is felt that Westhill would benefit from a rezoning exercise due to the new developments situated to the west of the town. The aim is to realign and safeguard the rolls of all schools, both rural and suburban within the Westhill primary network.
A Survey Monkey questionnaire has been carried out to collect initial responses from local parents. The team had an excellent response to this. The survey asked parents if they felt that their postcode was in the correct catchment areas. The team also met with all Head Teachers in the Westhill network to gain valuable feedback regarding suggested zones.
The Learning Estates Team will be holding an informal public meeting for any interested stakeholders. This will be held over two sessions on Wednesday 27th May, the first at 2-5pm in Westhill Library and the second from 5.30-7.30pm at Crombie Primary main hall. Parents and interested parties will have the chance to see first proposal maps, based on the feedback received, and to comment and add their own suggested boundaries.
Following this informal consultation period, the team will then use all of the comments to form their final proposals. These will become part of the statutory consultation proposal, which they would hope to launch around the beginning of the school summer holidays. This will provide parents with the summer to review proposals. The consultation would then run for the minimum 30 days during term-time after the summer holidays.