Highland school with no pupils saved from closure

A Highland school with no active pupils has been saved from closure by councillors after concerns were raised it risked “killing off a community”.

Badcaul Primary School has been mothballed since 2022, when pupils there were relocated to Ullapool primary school, a 60-mile round trip away.

Council officers called mothballing a “temporary measure” and said it is “not good practice to keep schools mothballed for year after year” in their report recommending school closure.

However, councillors have narrowly voted to save the school, seeing it remain mothballed for the foreseeable future until potential pupils arrive in 2028.

Unused school building doesn’t ‘galvanise community spirit’

Councillor Sarah Atkin lived in the area as a new mum, before becoming a Black Isle councillor.

She argued closing the school would not restrict the area from having a school again in the future, if “creative, out-of-the-box thinking” in the area brought more families in.

She said: “Continued mothballing means that this building remains closed and unused potentially for years.

“It’s an unused building and that doesn’t galvanise community spirit. There’s surely potential for the community to lease this building and bring it back to life.”

Skye councillor Drew Millar reiterated that there were no school age children in the catchment, and the council could be “giving an asset to the community” rather than taking one away.

School closure plans risk ‘killing off a community’

Despite the lack of pupils at the mothballed school, Sutherland councillor Marianne Hutchison brought forward proposals to keep the building ticking over.

She said: “Since the report was published, the outlook has changed.

“The construction of a major fish farm facility is well underway at Badcaul and should be operational this year, offering new employment opportunities.”

Councillor Hutchison noted the work of council officers but added there was vocal opposition to the closure from local groups and there is ongoing work on nearby community housing.

Skye councillor Ruraidh Stewart called plans to shut the school entirely “short-sighted” and risked “killing off a community.”

He added discouraging families from moving to rural areas by shutting schools “goes directly against our aims of addressing rural depopulation.”

Sutherland councillor Richard Gale said schools are generally the “heart of the community” and questioned why the report stated it would have “no impact” on children.

Education officer Ian Jackson replied this was due to the lack of active pupils at the school since January 2022.

What is the situation with Badcaul primary?

Mr Jackson outlined the school is “no longer viable” due to the low number of children in the school’s catchment area.

He said a closure “would bring about educational benefits” as children transferred to Ullapool reported a positive learning experience.

While Badcaul school was mothballed in 2022, early learning services were discontinued in 2018.

Mr Jackson said several instances of community and face-to-face meetings had been offered to parents with young children to get their views on closure and early learning, but they received no response.

However, the local community council advised officers there are three young children in the catchment area, who could attend the school by 2028.

The consultation on closing the school was conducted over two months last year, and in February councillors agreed to defer any decision to close the school until now.

The decision to keep the school in limbo passed by just one vote.

What of other Highland schools?

Councillors unanimously voted to begin the process of closing the primary school in Kinlochewe, with children in the catchment “happy and settled” at other schools.

The school has also been mothballed since 2022, and a council report said there is “no evidence that the school would be viable in the future.”

An agreement was also reached to move ahead with the relocation of St Clement’s school in Dingwall to a planned community hub in the town.