ONE of the schools at the centre of the asbestos row is to close, it was confirmed yesterday.
Merksworth High School in Paisley, along with the town's St Mirin's RC High School, were axed at a meeting of Renfrewshire Council. The authority said the Merksworth pupils would be transferred to Castlehead High and Paisley Grammar, while the St Mirin's pupils would go to either an extended St Andrew's Academy or a new Catholic school if funding was available.
A spokeswoman said the council would be seeking #19m from the Scottish Executive to build a new Catholic school in the town.
She added that it had been decided to close Merksworth and St Mirin's because achievement levels had not been rising. While St Mirin's had a capacity of 819 places, only 329 were filled, and although Merksworth had 1180 places, only 289 pupils attended.
The decision to close Merksworth was condemned by parents who campaigned to save the school and by opposition councillors.
Councillor Bruce McFee, the SNP group leader, said the application for #19m funding was a red herring to divert attention from the closure of the two schools.
''They had a predetermined agenda,'' he said. ''The reason they wanted to close these schools is because St Mirin's is on a prime site for residential development and Merksworth is slap bang next to the airport and would be valuable for airport expansion.''
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