Strictly Come Dancing winner backs appeal for new teacher for school with 15 pupils

A school with only 15 pupils searching for a new teacher would welcome someone with “open arms” says former Strictly Come Dancing winner Hamza Yassin.

Kilchoan Primary’s current teacher is due to move to part-time working, with a vacancy for a new full-time member of staff being shared by members of the local community on social media.

The village on the south coast of the peninsula has a population of around 150 people is a two hour drive from the nearest large town of Fort William.

The school on the Ardnamurchan peninsula has just 15 pupils enrolled as part of a composite primary 1 to primary 7 class.

Yassin, a wildlife cameraman who won Strictly in 2022, lives in the village.

The conservationist and zoologist says Kilchoan offers a beautiful place for people to call home and that a new teacher would be “welcomed with open arms”.

He told STV News: “Kilchoan is a phenomenal place, it’s what I have called home ever since I moved to Scotland. So for the last fifteen years I’ve been living there.

“It’s got such a beautiful, human feeling and there’s a lot of camaraderie.

“A lot of people think, ‘what do you do with 150 people and you live in the middle of nowhere with 44 miles of single track?’

“It is the community that is so beautiful and the wildlife that is there.

“For anyone who wants to teach our young kids in Kilchoan, please make yourself known. We would love to have you.

“I guarantee you will be welcome with open arms as much as I have been. It’s a beautiful part of the world and you won’t go wrong with it.

“I’m an honorary Scot, as they call it, and Kilchoan is my home – it will be my forever home.

“Please come over and teach our kids even if there is only fifteen of them at the moment. It will be great I promise you.”

The job listing, which offers a salary of £52,896 per year plus a relocation package, has been shared over 7000 times after local store Puffin Coffee shared the post.

Highland Council spokesperson said: “The Highland Council is currently recruiting for 6 primary teaching vacancies across the Council area.

“GTCS registration is essential, and suitably qualified teachers interested in applying are encouraged to apply via ‘myjobscotland’ the local government recruitment platform.”

The post has a deadline for applications is Monday, January 22 on the MyJobScotland website.