Interesting looking back at all this now, even though its clearly not finished yet.
Seems Dunottar original trustees had got into a mess. Perhaps they panicked. They however did not go to the parents, but to RGS and asked for support, which RGS offered. Perhaps the original trustees should have gone to the parents a year ago or 2 years ago, so a parent group to look into possible futures could have been formed. However they didn't do this. Would I be right in thinking too, from all this on here, that the Head and old trustees did not make clear the limited nature of the RGS commitment (or was it evident, but parents wanted to see the positive side, rather than the limited nature)
In the year which followed, little really changed at Dunottar. Probably no one expected it would in a year.....so a year on, the financial position was the same. As RGS had never promised long term support, Dunottar were back to where they had been a year before, but this time possible closure was announced. This gave the impetus to the parents to form PAG later DV to look at alternatives. Without the threat of closure, perhaps such a body would never have been so effective as this one became. UL were found and a co ed solution suggested, which the Governors considered and looked at and found workable. One of the unfortunate things in all this seems to have been the criticism of RGS Governors. People seemed to think they had been promised a long term salvation plan and that this was pulled. However, it seems to me they delivered what they offered and the sad thing was that the limited nature of it was either not made clear or people failed to grasp it and then put the blame for all Dunottars problems on them rather than seeing the longer term root causes of the problem.
My question relates to how they are now seen. Many people on here have been very negative about RGS Governors. Is it now seen that they responded to a request from Dunottar for help and said yes to short term help. With hindsight, do people think the limited nature of the offer was misrepresented at all, and if so was that by RGS or by the old trustees of Dunottar. Did RGS do anything wrong at any point? The threat of closure it seems to me had to be voiced at some point. And actually, although upsetting, was actually necessary for serious alternatives to be investigated properly. (Would current paretns have been willing or able to look at the wide range of alternatives, which would make Dunottar a very different school if not forced to by threat of closure) Possible closure, with a consultation period to assess alternatives was announced by RGS (only option, in light of their limited support) when it should have been announced earlier by old trustees. So then, both DV and then new Governors worked hard looking at alternatives and assessing their long term viability.
Seems to me, the Governors have worked hard with DV and a way forward has been found. If RGS had never been involved at all, I would have thought closure in 2013 was more likely and no one would be there anymore. I just wonder if the RGS governors will now be seen in a more positive way or still as causing all of Dunottars difficulties.
On a different note, the continuing Dunottar will be or become a very different school as boys enter and UL takes over. There will still be a school there offering choices in independent education, which is brilliant, but the choice which will be there in future will be a different one to the one there has been until now.
I am so glad for the girls and staff who want to remain in the new Dunottar, that they now have the option to do so. What a relief for them and testimony to a lot of hard work which Im sure those involved will never forget. I will watch with interest how attitudes to Dunottar, to RGS, and to UL develop over time and how Dunottar evolves. I'm glad I'm not in the market for secondary education at the moment, because there would still be too many unknowns for me to be able to choose Dunottar, but in a number of years when I might be making that choice, I would certainly consider the new Dunottar as an option and think others will too.