EXCLUSIVE

THE Labour council hierarchy in Glasgow was last night facing an explosive backlash from parents accusing them of putting political interests before children's education in deciding school closures.

A special meeting of the city council's education committee will today consider a proposal which could mean shutting Hillhead High School, an option parents were told in February had been ruled out on educational grounds.

Hillhead parents said last night they believed the meeting would take a decision - based on politics and councillors' seats at future elections - to re-open the proposed merger of the school with Woodside Secondary, with the possible closure of Hillhead back on the agenda.

They fear intense political pressure has been brought to bear on the ruling Labour group by deputy Lord Provost Alex Mosson, in whose Anderston ward the majority of Woodside parents live, and by education convener Dr Malcolm Green, whose ward includes Woodside.

The merger issue is the latest example of in-fighting to beset the council, currently riven by legal warfare between Lord Provost Pat Lally and the Labour group. Glas-gow has also had a particularly bloody history on school closures.

The parents thought in this case they had been through the debate after the depute director of education wrote to tell them in February the council had agreed to a formal proposal in principle that ''Woodside Secondary should close and pupils transfer to Hillhead''.

The Labour group voted last month to re-open the issue after Dr Green sent a letter to Labour group secretary Des McNulty outlining the potential political backlash for Labour of turning its back on Woodside.

In the letter, a copy of which has been passed to The Herald, Dr Green said: ''With regard to Woodside/Hillhead, the director favours a single option of developing on the Hillhead site. The only reason for this, as he freely admits, is that the Hillhead parents are threatening to go anywhere rather than Woodside, whereas we can be reasonably sure that the Woodside children will have nowhere else to go.

''To have only one option, and to rule out a combined school on the Woodside site, would be extremely damaging to the standing of the Labour Party and the entire Anderston area and I would strongly support the inclusion of both options in the document.

''I understand that the director feels that he should submit a one-option document initially to the executive, but he would have no problem at all if the group executive wished to have a two-option one.

''I would urge very strongly, in the interests of equality and of ensuring an atmosphere of goodwill attending the new school when it comes about, that the consultation includes the pros and cons of locating the new Hillhead on either the current Hillhead or the current Woodside sites.''

A spokesman for the Hillhead Parents' Action Group said it was shocked and angry the council had gone back on a decision that had been made in the best educational interests of all the pupils in Hillhead and Woodside. ''Not one shred of new evidence has been produced to explain this decision. It clearly has nothing to do with the quality of education to be offered to all the children involved and everything to do with city council Labour Party politics.

''It has not escaped our notice that Dr Green, convener of education and the man responsible for this about-face, has the Woodside school in his constituency.''

The spokesman said that, after the informal consultation process in January, the director of education reported to the council that ''there are overwhelming educational arguments in favour of expanding on the Hillhead site''. This was an opinion he repeated to the council's Labour Party executive two weeks ago.

He added: ''If Dr Green thinks anyone is going to be fooled by his suggestion that shutting Hillhead on its present site and moving it to Finnieston will have no effect on the ethos or performance of the school, he must be either naive or stupid.

''Hillhead is a perfect example of the kind of school the city should be supporting and encouraging elsewhere. Its pupils come from a wide range of social and ethnic backgrounds, with the vast majority coming from typical inner city housing. It is one of the city's most successful schools in terms of academic, sports, and cultural achievements.''

A school insider said one factor mentioned is the cost of developing the schools: #4m at Woodside against #9m at Hillhead. ''But the council doesn't actually pick up the tab. That's money released from the Scottish Office.'' He said the issue was ''everything to do with politics and councillors' seats at future elections''.

Hillhead head teacher Ken Cunningham said he would like to see the consultation taken through as quickly and fairly as possible. ''Whatever the end result is, and I can't say which site I would prefer, it's important that we build on existing good practice of both schools.''

A council spokesman said proposals from the education committee would go out to consultation for the next three months.