Badenoch village school to close
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Highland Council is set to permanently close the only remaining primary school in the south of Badenoch as it is 'no longer viable'.
Education chiefs have said education provision should end at Gergask Primary School in Laggan with pupils from the village instead attending classes in Newtonmore.
The decision follows a public consultation and a meeting in the village's community hall on October 3, last year.
Related article:
Call for Highland Council to think outside of box to safeguard rural schools
Not so long ago the village was home to a thriving school.
But the roll fell from the mid 20s in the 2010s to just two pupils and the school was mothballed in September 2022.
The local authority said it sees 'no realistic prospect that Gergask Primary School will develop a viable school roll in the foreseeable future'.
The decision to axe the school will need to be rubber-stamped by Scottish Government Ministers.
Some villagers had called for the council to be more creative in its thinking and said that the lack of a school would discourage more families from moving into the area.
But Nicky Grant, Highland Council's education chief, said in her report: "The most significant reason for closure is that all the available evidence suggests that the number of children who would attend a re-opened Gergask Primary School would be too low to make the school viable, and that there would consequently be educational disadvantages arising from such a decision...
"Education Scotland staff visited Newtonmore Primary School to speak to parents, pupils and staff.
"They also had the opportunity to review in detail the proposal document and all written responses.
"They agree that Highland Council’s proposal will result in educational benefits for the children of the Gergask Primary School catchment area."
Badenoch Kate Forbes MSP said the permanent closure will be a blow to the community.
She said: “There is a real sense of sadness over Highland Council’s recommendation to close the primary school, particularly as this will reduce the likelihood of families moving to Laggan and the surrounding area.
“The closure of a rural school should not be looked at in isolation, and I think there is a discussion to be had regarding depopulation generally in the more remote communities of South Badenoch – this must include issues such as affordable housing, transport as well as job opportunities.
“Highland Council have said that they would welcome a community bid for the future use of the building and site, and I hope this can be explored in more detail in the near future.”
There were four written responses received in the public consultation and all opposed the proposed closure due to the effect on the community.
However, none of these were from parents of primary age children from within the catchment area.
Education Scotland inspectors reported that the majority of children and young people who met with them did not think that the Gergask school should open with the current roll of two.
The council report stated: "The public meeting was reasonably well-attended, given the small size of the local community.
"Although sadness was expressed over the demise of the school, there was a general feeling that closure was inevitable due to the lack of the children in the area."
The council said it had considered that new families could move into Laggan and create demand for the school so an option had been to keep the building mothballed.
But the authority concluded that it was 'unlikely that enough new children will come to the school' and said leaving a school mothballed for too long has a bad effect on the building.
Education Scotland concurred and said future school roll projections for the area did not show a significant increase and parents are already choosing home-schooling or placing requests to other primary schools such as Newtonmore.
They also pointed out: "With a small roll, there are less opportunities for peer group learning, socialisation, work with partners and group activities such as team sports."
Council bosses believe said it could be easier to find an alternative use for the school if it closed rather than another stay of execution.
Education Scotland said the council local authority should continue to engage with the community to discuss future options for the use of the building.
The council officials' recommendation will be considered at the authority's education committee meeting on February 21.
The report can be viewed online at: http://www.highland.gov.uk/schoolconsultations
The Scottish Ministers have to make a decision by March 14 to decide if they will call-in the proposal to close the school and if so then a final decision on the school's future by May 8.
Anyone wishing to make a representation to the Scottish Ministers can do so by emailing schoolclosure@gov.scot before April 3.
