A Huntly school has had to drop subjects from the curriculum because of a lack of teachers.
The Gordon Schools will no longer be teaching metal and woodwork classes after unsuccessfully advertising for a specialist teacher on five separate occasions without success.
The school has had no woodwork or metal work teachers since August and can’t attract a probationary teacher.
Aberdeenshire Council says it has even widened out the job description for a ‘teacher of creativity’, which did result in some interested candidates coming forward.
However, they later withdrew to take up posts elsewhere in the country.
Aberdeenshire only receiving 16 probationary teachers from Scottish Government
In a letter to Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett, the council also revealed it is only receiving 16 probationers from the Scottish Government for the 2023-24 school year, with no woodwork or metal work practitioners among them.
This despite the council requesting more subject-specific secondary probationers from the Scottish Government.
The local authority shared the job advert on social media and My Job Scotland, to no avail. It confirmed there’s no alternative — like virtual classes or using another school — for pupils wishing to study metal and woodwork.
Mr Burnett is urging the Scottish Government to do more to incentivise teachers to work in Aberdeenshire.
He has now submitted written questions to the Scottish Government asking what is being done to attract more teachers to the north-east, to give children in Aberdeenshire the same opportunities as elsewhere in Scotland.
The MSP has also urged the local authority to contact local joinery and fabrication businesses to arrange work experience with pupils who want to learn about metal and woodwork, but now don’t have the opportunity in school.
Aberdeenshire Council said The Gordon Schools were looking at retraining staff to allow some metal and woodwork classes to take place.
It added that the school is working with Developing The Young Workforce with a view to allowing pupils to work with businesses and develop skills in wood and metal work.
However, it admitted this is challenging due to how far Huntly is from many relevant businesses.
‘Deep concern’ over teacher recruitment struggles
“It is abundantly clear teacher recruitment struggles like this are being ignored by the Scottish Government,” said Mr Burnett. “And that Aberdeenshire Council needs more help to address these issues.”
“I’m deeply concerned subjects are being taken off the curriculum list at The Gordon Schools because teachers can’t be recruited.
“Every child in Scotland should have the same educational opportunities, regardless of where they live. But these struggles highlight that this isn’t the case for pupils living in Aberdeenshire.
“Rural schools tend to have a smaller range of subject choices than their counterparts in urban areas. This trend must change for the sake of children in areas such as Huntly.
“The SNP need to take action to stop this decline by ensuring the north-east isn’t left behind compared to those in urban locations.”
Scottish Government responds
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff.
“The Scottish Government provides additional funding to probationers who are willing to undertake their probation year in rural areas.
“We are also providing teaching bursaries of 20,000 to incentivise career changers into teacher training in STEM subjects and Gaelic.”
Have YOU been affected by teacher shortages at Huntly?
Aberdeenshire Council says it’s continuing to “explore solutions to recruitment issues to nsure all pupils can access learning right across the curriculum”.
If you or your child has been affected by teacher shortages and subjects being dropped at your school, we’d love to hear from you at schoolsandfamily@pressandjournal.co.uk.
Conversation