City schools face falling rolls

The number of primary school pupils has been dropping

The future of a quarter of Edinburgh's primary schools is to be discussed at a meeting of the city's council.

An internal report by education chiefs in the capital said the schools were under threat because of falling rolls.

The number of unfilled places is expected to be the equivalent of 27 primary schools within eight years.

The council is concerned that keeping schools open when they are well below capacity is uneconomical. It will consider closing or merging schools.

But in parts of the city where many new homes have been built, such as Leith Docks and Craigmillar, they may have to build new schools.

The city's primary school population peaked at 30,630 in 1997 but experts predict a fall to 23,550 by 2013.

Roy Jobson, the city's education director, said that if the number of pupils dropped to the level predicted, the department would have enough money to run only three-quarters of its 94 primary schools.