Largs Academy pupils face nearly four-hour round trip due to road closures caused by Storm Boelo

Pupils at Largs Academy are facing earlier wake-up times and longer school commutes due to road closures caused by Storm Boelo.

The A78 road between Skelmorlie and Largs has been impacted by storm damage, which has eroded parts of the carriageway and sea wall, making the route impassable.

It is also the main route the shuttle bus to Largs Academy uses, leaving pupils who live in Skelmorlie with a lengthy diversion.

Head teacher John Docherty said that, following discussions with North Ayrshire Council, the safest route for the bus was found to be to travel through Inverclyde to the Glasgow Airport roundabout, then back towards Largs Academy, with a journey time of one hour and 40 minutes.

This is compared to a roughly 15-minute journey it would usually take via the A78. Pupils must now be ready for pick-up in Skelmorlie by 7.30am, with a much later after-school drop-off.

Mr Docherty said: “I fully appreciate that this is a significantly longer journey than usual, particularly given the earlier start to the day.

“However, I am sure you will recognise the challenges presented by the current road closure and the importance of ensuring that our young people can continue to access their education safely and with as little disruption as possible.”

STV News spoke to pupils waiting for the early-morning bus on Wednesday.

Nina Spirithawthorne said: “I think it will have a big impact on our day-to-day lives because it takes so much time out of the day, it’s an almost four-hour round trip just to get to school.”

Nina said she usually gets up for 7am but because the bus leaves at 7.30am she says she will need to get up at 6am or even earlier.

Largs Academy’s school day finishes at 4pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, so pupils will not arrive home until around 6pm.

Emma Binnie (L) and Nina Spirithawthorne (R) were forced to wait for the bus from 7am. STV News

Nina is in her fifth year and is concerned that the disruption will impact her studies for her exams.

“We won’t have a lot of time because as soon as we get back, it’ll be dinner, and there’s not a lot of time after that to study,” she said. Nina is also an avid swimmer and triathlete, and she says the longer journey will definitely impact her training.

Emma Binnie, also a swimmer, says the disruption is “annoying” as it takes away the little free time she has following school and her extracurricular activities.

She says the bus journey to school is usually quite “hyper” and believes the longer trip will be “tough”.

Largs Academy pupils say diversion will have ‘big impact’ on studies

“I think it will be really difficult because this year I am trying to get good grades for university, so I am going to have a lot less time to work on that,” she said.

Nina’s mum, Naomi Spirithawthorne, also spoke to STV News and raised concerns about the impact a longer journey would have on her daughter during an important year for her.

“I am worried that she’s going to be tired by the end of the day, that’s a lot of travel and obviously through peak rush-hour as well, although it says one hour 40, who knows how long it will take,” she said.

Naomi Spirithawthorne is concerned about the impact on her daughter's education. — Naomi Spirithawthorne is concerned about the impact on her daughter’s education. STV News

Ms Spirithawthorne said she was surprised when the alternative arrangements were announced and said it’s “not feasible”.

She added: “It’s not an effective use of time, and there are a lot of complaints about behaviour on the school bus, so I just worry that one hour and 40 minutes spent on a bus could make that behaviour worse.”

Suggestions have been made to implement a one-way system on the A78 to allow traffic to pass.

Dean Binnie, a sixth-year, says the diversion will have a “terrible impact” on an important exam year for him, as he has less time to study, and he will also be forced to miss his early-morning and evening training sessions.

He does not look forward to the lengthy journey as he claims kids can barely last 15 minutes on the bus. He also echoed some calls for the A78 road to be made one-way.

Dean Binnie will be forced to miss training due to longer bus journeys. STV News

Mr Docherty added in his letter to parents: “I would like to thank you for your continued patience, understanding and flexibility as we work through this challenging situation.

“I recognise the inconvenience these arrangements may cause for families, but I am pleased that we have identified a safe and workable solution that will allow pupils to continue attending Largs Academy.

“I will share any further information or confirmation of arrangements as soon as it becomes available.”