Councillors consider closing Perthshire primary school with just 11 pupils

Perth and Kinross councillors will this week be asked to begin considering closing a Perthshire primary school.

Logiealmond Primary School does not have a permanent headteacher and has a projected roll of 11 pupils in August 2026.

On Wednesday, May 27, Perth and Kinross Council’s Learning and Families Committee will be asked to proceed with an options appraisal for the rural school to determine its future.

A report – going before the council committee on Wednesday – seeks councillors’ approval for an options appraisal to be drawn up and recommends “options to be considered should include the possible closure of the school”.

In 2018, there were 12 pupils enrolled in the school and it was thought the pupil roll might increase “substantially”.

However, according to the school’s website, it currently has 12 pupils and, according to the council report, the projected roll for August 2026 is 11 pupils.

The report – by service manager Karen Robertson – states: “It was identified that there were 17 potential pupils under the age of five years old living within the catchment area who potentially would attend the school by 2023, and if that materialised, the school roll was expected to increase substantially.

“Lifelong Learning Committee agreed in March 2018 that the occupancy of Logiealmond Primary School would be reviewed again in 2022.”

The committee – which is now called the Learning and Families Committee – is being asked to review the school’s occupancy, as previously agreed, and its future.

The report states: “The parents, staff and wider community are aware of the previous decision to review the occupancy of Logiealmond Primary School following the consideration of this in March 2018, and it is correct that the council fulfils this requirement in order to bring matters to a conclusion.”

According to the report, two new primary one catchment pupils were expected in 2025/26 but only one enrolled at Logiealmond Primary School, with the other attending a different school “as the result of a successful placing request”.

The report – going before the council committee – states three new primary one pupils were expected to start at Logiealmond Primary in August 2026 but “all three pupils have applied to attend other schools as placing requests, indicating that Logiealmond Primary School is not the school of choice for the majority of catchment families with pupils starting school”.

Learning and Families Committee convener John Rebbeck told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the school roll had been “fairly static” over the years, “and difficulties around recruiting a headteacher has meant officers would like the committee to consider options going forward for the school, something which is difficult to argue with”.

The SNP deputy council leader added: “However, no decisions have been made and all possibilities will be considered.”