Axe falls Sgoil nan Loch Secondary Dept

The axe fell on four Western Isles schools  when education councillors voted to close the rural secondaries at Sgoil nan Loch, Lewis, and Paible on North Uist.

In addition Cliasmol Primary school in Harris and Craigston Primary School on Barra will shut in just two months. Craigston pupils have the choice of transferring to Castlebay or Eoiligarry while those at Cliasmol will now go to Sir E Scott in Tarbert.

Today’s decisions will have to be ratified by the full council but there seems to be very little chance of a reprieve.

The four are the latest in a series of schools under threat to pay for the cash shortfall for new private partnership school buildings.

Next on the hit list is Back, Lionel and Shawbost secondary units while in February the council decided to shut Bayble and Daliburgh secondary schools.

Though the closure of Cliasmol and Craigston was virtually inevitable with just a handful of pupils in each school there had been strong campaigns to retain Paible and Lochs. But councillors voted by a high majority to shut both.

Serious cash problems and a desperate need to find £1.5 million annually to fund five new schools is driving the closures.

Education director Murdo Macleod stressed that, in addition to paying for the PPP schools, the other reasons included  the difficulties in delivering the changing curriculum, less government funding, falling pupil numbers and the subsequent fall in finance from Edinburgh.

He insisted that the changing curriculum is not geared to the way the rural schools deliver education. He said local education spending was being slashed by around £ 1 million but £40 million was required to upgrade all schools to an acceptable standard.

Nine schools are currently targeted for possible closure - seven rural secondaries and two primary schools.

Earlier this year the council clashed with Scottish education Secretary Fiona Hyslop over the closure plans.

Western Isles Council insists that that the two-year rural schools which are unique in Scotland are not compatible with the Government’s own plans for the changing curriculum under its new "Curriculum for Excellence" initiative.

Paible parent council stressed that North Uist is "in the middle of a mini baby boom" which would boost the school roll and slammed the council's "lack of vision."

It pointed out that staff salaries will still have to be paid and school premises costs will remain the same.

The council rejects the parents arguments and highlights that secondary pupils could gain Gaelic medium education which is not delivered at Paible. However the Scottish Government would have to approve its closure as it is more than ten miles from Sgoil Lionacleit where pupils would now attend.

Lochs parents are concerned that pupils would transfer from a modern school to crumbling facilities at the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway which requires urgent replacement. Many parents are aghast that their children would be allowed to roam around the town centre unsupervised.

Hebrides News Website