The Parent Council met on 21 October to discuss next steps following on from the Parent Forum in September. Much of the discussion revolved around the range of courses that the school provides. Peebles is unique in Scotland for offering such a wide range of courses, with the 'traditional' academic subjects being delivered alongside vocational subjects, in the spirit of the Government's 'Skills for Life' agenda. The choice available has been very much welcomed by parents and students alike and the school has, until now, been able to accommodate this choice within its budget, without any additional funding being provided for the vocational subjects. The current unding situation now puts this range of choice under threat and parents and students need to consider whether retaining these courses is vital to the education of our children or whether the school should revert to focussing on the less costly traditional academic subjects. We also need to think hard about the way in which activities such as school trips and sporting events are funded. These have, in the past, enjoyed significant subsidy from the school, but can this continue given the financial pressures the school is under? With these issues in mind, the Parent Council plans, over the next few weeks, to survey parents to obtain their views on these matters. Alongside this, we also plan to issue a summary of the information on budgets presented by Councillors in September so that all parents have this to hand in considering their response to the survey. We also intend to provide contact details for Councillors and MSPs, together with suggested points that could be raised with them, so that parents can express their views directly. So, watch this space, and those school bags, for the survey coming out in the next couple of weeks.