Wednesday November 11th 2026
[photo_cc cap=”Loretto RC Primary School in Musselburgh.”]
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Midlothian councillors have rejected a plea from families to include a primary school which has sent pupils to their catholic high school for around 80 years in its formal catchment area.
Loretto RC Primary School in Musselburgh has had a long standing relationship with St David’s in Dalkeith with up to 30 P7s moving up to its S1 each year.
However the status was challenged last year after Midlothian Council officers pointed out there was no evidence of a formal agreement which gave Loretto pupils the right to attend the school.
A consultation on the catchment area for St David’s High School was launched and a financial agreement drawn up with East Lothian Council as the education authority covering the primary school, to cover the cost of pupils being educated at the Midlothian school.
A report to Midlothian councillors this week recommended they accept a new formal catchment which only covered their own county, excluding Loretto.
It also established a priority list for admissions which would see Loretto pupils who are catholic below catholic Midlothian children but above Midlothian children who are not baptised in the faith.
The meeting heard a joint delegation from Justin Bird, chairperson for Loretto Parents partnership, and Ian Thom, chairperson of St David’s Parent Council, appealing for the primary school to be included in the formal catchment area.
Mr Bird told the meeting: “Catchment status is not simply a position on an admissions priority list, it is something that gives our pupils additional benefits and protection against losing their automatic ability to go to a catholic secondary high school.”
And he questioned council officers view that the catchment area had to remain in Midlothian Council’s boundary and assertion that Loretto had never been part of it despite the longstanding arrangement between the schools.
He said: “What should be looked at is what the reality has been for the last 70 to 80 years in that there has been a consistent flow of pupils from Loretto to St David’s.”
Derek Oliver from the council said: “There is a long standing and valued relations between Loretto and St David’s.
“There is no existing catchment area map for St David’s but the working assumption is that it covers the whole of Midlothian and does not include Loretto.”
Mr Oliver said the proposals did not prevent pupils from applying to attend St David’s or affect the long standing relationship but warned that if the catchment area was opened up to Loretto it would mean any child living in its own area could apply regardless of whether they attend the school.
And he told councillors: “As an authority we are not only responsible for today’s school spaces but ensuring there are spaces in the future.”
Councillor Colin Cassidy , a former St David’s pupil, said he had sympathy with the families of Loretto but with a growing population and infrastructure pressures in Midlothian “we have to look after our own”.
And Councillor Ellen Scott, education spokesperson said: “We want to embrace Loretto pupils and welcome them into St David’s and this policy does that and puts adequate arrangements in place.
“I appreciate they would prefer to be treated as catchment but they are in a different local authority and there is a balancing act.
“I believe this policy is equitable and I don’t believe there is a hidden agenda. It will allow Loretto pupils to attend St David’s and keep the door open for this important relationship.”
The meeting also head from Ann-Theresa Lawrie, religious representative on the council, who told members the majority of those who responded to the consultation had wanted Loretto to be in the catchment area.
She said: “That would have been the ideal solution just to ensure that this continues because who knows what might happen in the future when it is not a catchment school.
“It is an emotive subject but it is a continuation of the faith journey for young people in East Lothian. Loretto was in Midlothian at one point and that has been overlooked. The Church would have preferred it to remain as a catchment school.”
Councillors agreed to approve the new policy which does not include Loretto Primary School in St David’s High School catchment area but does include them in the priority assessment list.
You can watch the full discussion at Midlothian Council meeting by watching the video below.
