Strathconon community to celebrate £1.7m school revamp - despite shadow of mothballing
A RURAL Ross-shire community will celebrate the grand reopening of a lavishly renovated primary school next week - despite the prospect of it being mothballed within months.
Strathconon Primary has issued an invite to parents, former pupils, teachers and staff associated with the school down the years to attend the open day next Friday (May 24).
The event is billed as a grand re-opening and follows an extensive refurbishment valued at around £1.7m.
It’s understood the Highland Council project also attracted support from the area’s biggest local employer, Strathconon Estate.
And while there’s a positive focus on the event - which will showcase new facilities and celebrate what one parent called “the wonderful, wonderful teacher” there, it’s a bittersweet moment too with Highland Council poised to decide on a likely mothballing of the school when three of its four pupils move on to secondary education.
While some have criticised the money spent on refurbishment given the precarious state of the school roll, others locally are hoping for an “out of the box” solution that would see it remain at the heart of the community.
This could potentially involve hybrid teaching using the facility some of the time and incorporating other uses. Hopes are also high that young families will be attracted by potential estate jobs.
“Mothballing” is a temporary closure and in Highland a decision on doing that is taken at official level, after discussion with local elected members and with parents.
If the school does close, its remaining pupil Scott McLennan will face a 12-mile journey to Marybank Primary School.
His mother Mary said she hopes to see creative thinking to make continued use of the school. She said the open day would be a celebration of “a wonderful school for children” and what has been achieved to date.
MSP Edward Mountain has called for a rethink on mothballing. He said the “state of the art primary school is probably the best one we have got in the Highlands with all its own facilities".
He said: "It is the most modern school in Scotland. The estate has also invested a significant amount. It's madness to have spent so much money to mothball it. It is an amazing building and I have asked Highland Council to reconsider and keep this vital local school open."
A Highland Council spokesperson told the Ross-shire Journal: “The council has decided to mothball Strathconon Primary School from the summer of 2025, as the school roll is expected to drop to a single pupil in August 2025.
“There are currently four children in the school, three of whom are in P7. No P1 enrolments are expected for August 2025.
“Council officers met with parents and other residents on October 2, 2024, to discuss the possibility of mothballing. Mothballing is a term applied to the temporary closure of school.
“It is only appropriate in circumstances where a school roll falls very low and the local authority considers that the school is not presently viable, but where the authority does not wish to close the school immediately because there is a reasonable prospect that the number of pupils in the area will increase and that it may be re-opened in the future.
“The Strathconon Estate advise that they are recruiting for new staff. The council has advised parents that we will continue to monitor the situation, and up to May 1 will review the decision to mothball should there be appointments to the estate that result in more school-age children within the school’s catchment area. If the school is mothballed, further reviews will take place on at least an annual basis.”
One local councillor, Liz Kraft, said on a Facebook post: “The final decision will not be made until May 25 as the estate are advertising for positions. Should it be mothballed there will be continued review. Mothballing is not permanent closure.
“I hope the estate attracts families. Affordable housing will be essential.”
One observer taking to local social media posted: “Part of the problem is that there are no houses for young families to move into and when a property does become available it is invariably purchased by Strathconon estate to accommodate their staff or become a holiday let.
“In any event, it is unlikely these properties will ever be offered for sale again. This practice can also inflate the sale prices of properties that do become available making them less attractive to potential buyers.”
