Badcaul Primary School closure decision deferred to summer
A WESTER Ross school has been given a stay of execution after councillors deferred a decision on backing its permanent closure.
Badcaul Primary, around 30 miles from Ullapool Primary, has been mothballed since January 2022 when the roll fell to zero.
During a consultation last year, members of the community were invited to comment on the proposal to close the school.
A report from Education Scotland has now “recommended that the Highland Council approves the proposal to discontinue education provision at Badcaul Primary, reassigning its catchment area to that of Ullapool Primary School”.
The report was set to be considered at the council’s education committee today, but has now been deferred to the committee’s June meeting, as the council cited a decision to carry out further consultation.
The previous consultation saw significant opposition amongst the local community to closure, though most pupils were in favour.
At today’s education meeting committee chairman, Councillor John Finlayson, said consideration of the Education Scotland report was being deferred “because of additional information that is coming in and additional engagement we want to carry out.”
