NEARLY 5000 responses were received to a consultation into the future of Scotland’s last remaining all-girls school.

Glasgow City Council opened a review into whether Notre Dame High School should be open to boys after a push from some parents.

The consultation closed in May and now early results have been passed to interested groups, although an official report is still to be distributed to councillors ahead of a committee meeting.

Campaign group Girls for Notre Dame hailed the figures as positive in supporting keeping the school all-girls.

However, the group hoping to widen access to the school to include boys, Notre Dame High 4 All, similarly said the results support their position.

Michelle Watt, from the campaign group Girls for Notre Dame, said: “We are grateful to Glasgow City Council for sharing these results and overwhelmed that almost 54 per cent of voters are in favour of keeping the all-girl status, including extending access to even more primary schools.

“The results clearly show that parents and pupils from across our city want the secondary to remain.

“We are sure that councillors will also make the right decision based on the educational value and impact of any change on the local learning community when they cast their final vote later in the year.”

Figures show that around 54 per cent of votes were returned for the first two options - 39.9 per cent voted to keep the status quo while 13.7 per cent said they would want to keep the school single sex and expand the catchment area.

Some 45.7 per cent of respondents said they would like to make the school co-educational.

Only 17.3 per cent of secondary pupils who responded said they would want the school to become co-educational.

Of staff who responded, 53 per cent opted to open the school to boys.

Nearly 60 per cent of local residents who responded said that they would prefer the school to be open to boys and girls.

A spokeswoman for Notre Dame High 4 All said: “NDH4All is absolutely delighted that the poll results clearly show that co-education is what pupils, teachers, parents and our wider community want.

“Almost half voted in favour of making Scotland’s last remaining state funded single sex school open to both boys and girls.

“Interestingly, just a quarter of the pupils at Notre Dame High, 25 per cent, voted to retain single sex status.

“This speaks volumes and sends a clear message to Glasgow City Council that it’s time to allow local boys and girls to be educated together in their local state high school.

“Making Notre Dame co-educational would not only bring an end to council led gender discrimination, it would cut traffic and pollution in what is already one of the most polluted parts of the city at a time when the Council is actively pursuing net zero status.”

Parents, pupils, education experts and community members were asked to give their view as to whether boys should be allowed to attend Notre Dame.

The secondary, in Glasgow’s West End, was formerly a private girls school before it was taken over by the local council.

Now the last school of its kind in Scotland, it caters to girls from across the city and has a high number of placing requests, giving it a mix of pupils from different socio-economic backgrounds.

However, parents from the primary estate launched a campaign to open the school to boys.

Glasgow City Council followed with a public consultation giving three options for the future of Notre Dame, including the changing of the catchment area for St Charles’ Primary.

This would include it in the single-sex catchment but remove it from a mixed-sex school.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: "We are continuing to analyse the consultation figures and a report will be submitted to a future education, skills and early years committee as well as the City Administration Committee in due course.”