School fees VAT jiggery-pokery - John McLellan

The new primary school built on Canaan Lane in Morningside

So up the charges will go by 20 per cent in January and it will be up to Edinburgh Council to deal with the consequences.

Education convener Joan Griffiths insists there is plenty of space in the council’s schools to cope with any exodus, but as readers of this column may remember, that’s only because of some jiggery-pokery with the available resources.

Secondary schools are no longer deemed to be over-capacity because more than one lesson will be squeezed into some classrooms and the commandeering of off-campus spaces like church halls and community centres.

It took the construction of a whole new school on Canaan Lane to end South Morningside Primary’s use of the Cluny Centre for overspill classes, and such ad hoc split sites could be the norm for popular schools across the city.

The only conclusion I can draw is Labour both locally and nationally simply doesn’t care, because the big prize is the hammering of a sector it has long disliked, even if senior party figures are customers.

As an excellent ward colleague, I count Cllr Griffiths as a friend but we agreed to disagree on private schools for which she has a deep disdain. Her position is no surprise, and I’m not holding my breath for acknowledgement of problems.