Tuesday May 19th 2026
Councillor James Anderson
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
“Hell will freeze over” before pupils at Eyemouth Primary School move to the town’s High School, a concerned councillor has warned.
Two options are on the table over the future of the primary school, councillors will be informed this week.
Late last year the plug was pulled on a Scottish Borders Council consultation launched over proposals for the relocation of the school into the town’s High School amid overwhelming public opposition.
It was agreed instead to launch an engagement plan with all elements of the community and for the formation of focus groups to agree a way forward.
When members of SBC meet on Thursday, May 21, they will be told that in response to this engagement, officers have further developed two broad routes for consideration.
The first is the initial campus proposal, based on relocation of primary provision to the High School site, with a separate Early Years and Family Centre on the current primary site.
The second is an alternative new build proposal, based on a new standalone primary school with early years and family centre provision on or aligned to the existing primary school site.
The first option will be opposed by East Berwickshire councillor James Anderson at this week’s meeting, who strongly believes placing primary school pupils in a secondary school environment is the wrong option.
Both routes have now been tested further against educational impact, programme, delivery risk, disruption, affordability and capital planning implications.
The key outcome of the work undertaken to date is that the alternative new build proposal appears capable of being delivered more quickly, but at materially higher cost, while the campus option appears less costly but would take longer to deliver and carries greater programme, operational and engagement complexity.
Councillors will be asked to agree that a further report on the two options is brought before full council in the autumn.
Councillor Anderson, who will submit an amendment to the proposals at this week’s meeting, said: “I am deeply disappointed by the tone and direction of this paper. Despite the overwhelming feedback received through consultation and engagement, the report still appears to lean toward continuing work on a campus model that the community has clearly and repeatedly rejected.
“The people of Eyemouth have spoken. Parents, pupils, teachers, community groups and stakeholders have consistently raised serious concerns around safeguarding, well-being, accessibility, operational pressures, loss of identity and the suitability of placing primary age children within a secondary school environment. Those concerns cannot simply be brushed aside and treated as obstacles to an estate rationalisation exercise.
“This must not become a cost-cutting exercise where the education, safety and well-being of our youngest children are secondary to reducing estate pressures elsewhere in the council estate.
“Over recent months I have met with parents, teachers and staff from across the Borders who have raised growing concerns around violence and behavioural issues within schools, including incidents involving assaults on teachers, intimidation and the use of weapons.
“Whether isolated or not, these realities reinforce an important point: primary school children deserve an age-appropriate environment designed specifically around their developmental, educational and safeguarding needs.
“I will not support placing young primary pupils into a high school environment against the clearly expressed wishes of the community.
“Hell will freeze over before I sit back and allow the voices of local families to be ignored in favour of spending even more public money progressing a proposal that has fundamentally lost public confidence.”
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