Questions are being asked about timetabling and class capacity in the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway amid reports that a waiting list for places in a Higher English class was in operation at the start of the academic year.

A parent contacted welovestornoway to complain that her daughter was unable to take Higher English in the timetable column of her choice due to it being ‘oversubscribed’  – despite her having achieved an A at National 5.

Her daughter was only wanting to stay on in school to take Highers in maths and English and chose to leave school instead, rather than spend time on a wait list.

The parent said she felt “very disappointed and let down by the school” and called on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s education department to intervene, if there were wider problems needing solved around staffing.

She also criticised education boss Donald Macleod for not replying to her emails about the matter. “The head of education didn’t even have the decency to acknowledge my email, never mind respond to it.”

The parent, who does not want to be named, said: “I would understand if they had done poorly in their National 5 results but for a child to do very well and then be waitlisted for a core subject is incredibly disheartening.

“There was no effort from the school to rectify this. Why should a child have to wait for someone to drop a class or leave school in order to get into a class? If it was months down the line, how do they expect the child to catch up on what they have missed?

“I am angry for the pupils who need Higher English in order to have the future they want and can’t get it.”

The student had brought up the timetable problem with the school before the holidays “but the teacher said there was nothing they could do”.

The parent added: “My child feels so let down. They didn’t want to leave school but felt like they didn’t have a choice. I have spoken to a couple of teachers who are very disappointed that children aren’t getting their needs met.”

In the Nicolson, senior phase students, working towards National level and Higher qualifications, ‘build’ their own bespoke timetables and choose subjects from particular columns depending on what subjects are on offer in what column.

The same subject can appear in multiple columns but not every column, with each column corresponding to a set schedule of classes through the week.

An email from the student’s guidance teacher to her parent in August, seen by WLS, confirmed that Higher English was oversubscribed in one column at the time.

The email acknowledged: “Due to the number of pupils changing subjects after their exam results and a legal limit on the number of pupils allowed in a classroom, there is a waitlist for Higher English in the column she has free.”

The parents said the situation did “not reflect well on the school or the education department”.

She added: “The education department needs to rectify this, make sure they have adequate teachers for core subjects and find alternatives if they are having issues with staffing, (such as) online classes and substitute teachers.”

A spokesperson for CnES said: “The Comhairle doesn’t comment on cases relating to individual learners. Any parent or family with concerns about education provision is encouraged to raise them with the Comhairle’s Education Service directly.

“Comhairle nan Eilean Siar takes every possible step to meet requests for courses and qualifications and, in dialogue with young people and parents, we are committed to finding solutions that deliver appropriate progression routes for all pupils.”

The Nicolson Institute secondary is the largest school in the Western Isles and has more than 1,000 students.