Macduff teenager Dillon Third made the difficult decision to move 25 miles away from his brothers and parents to ensure he can pursue his passion for drama.
Dillon switched from Banff Academy, where he had been a pupil for two years, to Fraserburgh Academy in August as drama is not on the curriculum at his home school.
It was a decision he didn’t take lightly and made only after the full support of his parents Paul and Wendy, and brothers Jamie, 23, Michael, 16, and Peter, 10.
Dillon, 14, said: “I loved my time at Banff Academy and performed in the school show at the end of term last year and had made my subject choices for third year but it didn’t feel right to not be studying drama, which is what I’m really passionate about.
“I spoke to my mum and dad about it and as the summer holidays went by it reached a point where we agreed we would regret not doing it.
“My granny and granddad live in Fraserburgh and they said I could stay with them for a few days during the week to save travelling every day and it was then a case of moving to Fraserburgh.
“I spoke to some of my teachers at Banff and they all agreed I should go for it and wished me well. I was sad to say goodbye and getting up early to catch the bus from Macduff every Monday is never nice but going to Fraserburgh has worked out well so far and I’ve landed a principle role in Global Rock, performed in my first Shakespeare play and got a part in the school show.
“It would be nice to be at home and go to my local school but if this is what I have to do then so be it.
“It’s been nice to have a break at home just now and the Easter holidays are not far away so I’ll get the chance to catch up with my Banff and Macduff friends.”
Mum Wendy said: “It’s unfortunate Banff Academy could not provide the resources to meet Dillon’s needs. Apart from the drama we have found it to provide an excellent learning experience for our boys.
“It’s hard not having him at home and we all miss him but it’s important to encourage the boys in their passions and drama is Dillon’s.”
Vincent Docherty, head of secondary education for Aberdeenshire Council, said: “The heart of our approach to education in Aberdeenshire is being able to provide every child with a high-quality, rounded curriculum but it has been well documented that we continue to face teacher recruitment difficulties in the area.
“Our recruitment drive has ranged from offering financial incentives to encourage teachers to move to the area as well as ‘home-grown’ programmes like the DLite scheme which support people living in Aberdeenshire to gain post-graduate teaching qualifications.
“Parents and pupils have every right to change schools if they feel another will offer them specialist support in a particular field.”