Dalwhinnie Primary School closes because of falling roll

One of the smallest schools in Scotland has had to close its doors, ending 134 years of history and leaving a gaping hole in the community.

Dalwhinnie Primary School’s roll has dropped to just three pupils – who have just finished P2, P3 and nursery.

Their parents have now decided to have them educated at Newtonmore Primary instead, so that they can mix with more children.

Highland Council insists that the school will not be closed but “mothballed”.

They said the school could open again if enough new children move into the area, but that possibility currently looks remote.

Moira Webster, who has been the school’s teacher for eight years, said the final prizegiving on Friday had been an emotional one.

She said: “It’s very sad that the school is closing, at least for the time being. It has a lot of history, and it has been a great place to work.

“When I first came here, there were 15 children with a range of ages, but now we only have three.

“The parents were happy with the education the children were getting here, but felt that from a social point of view, the children would be better off going to Newtonmore.”

Mrs Webster said she had a lot of happy memories of the school.

“The community has been absolutely brilliant,” she said. “Everything we did, they joined in and supported us. The school was a major part of the community.”

Ms Jan Filshie is the head teacher of Newtonmore and Dalwhinnie primary schools.

She said: “This is sad news, as Dalwhinnie has been a real community school. Local people have been so involved in it and so supportive.

“The prizegiving was emotional and quite difficult. The community understands what a sad loss the school is.

“There were 50 to 60 people at the prizegiving, some of them ex-pupils, including Mary Christie, the oldest ex-pupil still living in Dalwhinnie, who attended the school in the 1940s.”

The head teacher added: “The school could still have a new life in future if people move into the area with young children and want them to attend Dalwhinnie.”

Mrs Webster will be moving to Newtonmore to teach next term, as will the two other teaching members of staff from Dalwhinnie.

For more on this story, see the current edition of the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald.

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