Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Highland primary school to close after falling pupil numbers

Inverasdale Primary School
Inverasdale Primary School

A remote Highland primary school which was mothballed due to falling pupil numbers seems destined to formally close.

A report published yesterday on the council’s website states: “It is recommended that Highland Council approves the proposal to discontinue education provision at Inverasdale and re-assign its catchment area to that of Poolewe Primary.”

Youngsters who would have attended Inverasdale Primary in Wester Ross switched to Poolewe school – which is five miles south – three years ago.

The “final consultation report” will go before the council’s education committee on November 11.

Between now and then, the public is invited to provide comments that will be tabled at that meeting.

Councillors will take those on board any comments before agreeing a final decision.

Speaking yesterday, education chairman Drew Millar said he understood that local councillors were “happy” with the closure recommendation.

“It’s something that’s probably been on the cards for a while and it’s good to see that although the school has to close people are accepting of the decision,” he said.

A three-month community consultation and public meeting were held as part of recently introduced education legislation giving parents, pupils and others in the area a chance to comment.

Ward councillor Ian Cockburn said the closure recommendation was reluctantly accepted locally, but there was consolation in that the building is in regular community use for a variety of purposes including that of a WWII Artic Convoys museum and as a tea room and meeting place.

His ward colleague Audrey Sinclair said: “It’s a pity we’ve got to this situation, but the forecast for the area is for fewer young families. At least the current arrangement with Poolewe seems to be working well, and there’s good community use of the building.”

According to council projections, current population figures within the 49-capacity school’s catchment indicate a maximum roll of five pupils by 2018-19.

“A roll of this size impedes the successful delivery of the curriculum and hampers social interaction opportunities for children,” the council report states.

As part of the consultation process, 15 questionnaires were completed by P4-7 Poolewe Primary pupils, most of whom agreed that it should close.

Government representatives have heard from parents, pupils, staff and a host of local organisations and reviewed the public responses.

The council has concluded that closure of Inverasdale and permanent switch to Poolewe Primary “offers educational and community benefits and should be implemented without amendment”.

School inspectors said the move would help Poolewe maintain teacher numbers.

“Children will continue to have access to increased learning activities, wider experiences and better socialisation through being part of a larger school,” they said.