Formal closure of mothballed Torridon Primary School in spotlight of public meeting in Wester Ross village
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Highland Council is inviting parents, children and members of the public to attend a meeting next week to discuss the proposal to formally close Torridon Primary School in Wester Ross.
It has been mothballed since June 2012.
The local authority is proposing to discontinue the provision of education at Torridon Primary and to reallocate its catchment area to that of Shieldaig Primary School.
The meeting will be held at Torridon Community Centre at 6.30pm on Tuesday, March 28. Everyone in the community is welcome to come along and give their views.
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The proposal paper will be available for inspection, free of charge, at:
- Torridon Community Centre
- Shieldaig Primary School
- Gairloch Community Library
- West Ross Mobile Library
and published on the Highland Council website: www.highland.gov.uk/schoolconsultations
The proposal is being advanced, council papers say, because:
- Torridon Primary School has been mothballed since the end of session 2011-12, and no children have attended the school since that time.
- Current population figures within the school catchment indicate a maximum school roll of either 5 or 6 pupils over the next 5 years.
- A school roll of this size provides significant impediments to the successful implementation of a Curriculum for Excellence.
- A school roll of 5-6 pupils hampers social interaction opportunities for children, who conversely benefit from attending larger schools amongst more children of their own age.
When the school was first mothballed, pupils from Torridon attended either Shieldaig Primary or Kinlochewe Primary, although the majority attended Shieldaig. Kinlochewe Primary was mothballed in the summer of 2022, after the school roll dropped to one following a number of placing requests.
For the 2022-23 school session, there will be five pupils of P1-7 age living within the catchment area of the school. There is one pre-school child in the catchment, who would enter P1 in August 2024.
The consultation paper states: The above figures suggest that, were Torridon School to re-open with 100 per cent of catchment pupils attending the school, the P1-7 roll figures for the forthcoming few years would be:
2023-24 – 5
2024-25 – 6
2025-26 – 5
2026-27 - 5
The school has a permanent capacity of 25. Based on the permanent capacity available, the notional 2023-24 roll of 5 pupils would represent 20 per cent use of capacity.
It goes on: "The P1-7 pupils from Torridon who attend Shieldaig PS travel on school transport, at a cost of £155 per day, or £29,450 per school year. Were Torridon Primary to re-open, only one of the current pupils would be entitled to school transport over a distance of 2.5 miles. The potential annual cost can be estimated at £5 per day, or £950 per school year."
Shieldaig Primary School is situated within the village of the same name. It is classed by the Scottish Government as a “very remote” rural school. The area served by the school includes the village of Shieldaig and the area from Balgy to Cuaig along Loch Torridon. Since the mothballing of Torridon School it has, for practical purposes, also taken pupils from that school’s catchment. Since the mothballing of Kinlochewe PS in June 2022, it has also taken some pupils from that school’s catchment.
The school building dates from well over one hundred years ago, but has recently undergone extensive modernisation with the conversion of the school house into a purpose-built Nursery accommodation. There are two classrooms, a Nursery room, a school kitchen, an office and several toilets.
Adjacent to the school, there is an enclosed grassy playground, plus the community football pitch and multi-use games area, which are located directly behind the school. These areas are all used by the children during outdoor breaks and P.E. The local church hall is also used for P.E. and as a performance venue.
For session 2022-23, the school has a roll of 25 pupils, with represents a significant increase on the typical school roll for Shieldaig earlier in the century. The current roll includes five pupils from within the Torridon catchment and three from within the Kinlochewe catchment. There are a further seven children in the nursery class, including one from Torridon and two from Kinlochewe.
In bringing forward this proposal for closure, the council must give due consideration of alternative courses of action that could be considered. The following reasonable alternatives to closure have been considered:
i. To continue with the current “mothballing” arrangement.
ii. To re-open Torridon PS with its current catchment area.
iii. To re-open Torridon PS with an expanded catchment area.
iv. To re-open Torridon PS as a form of specialist facility
The report states that The village of Torridon has a first-class community centre located a short walk from the school building.
During informal discussions with local stakeholders, the Community Council in particular wished to have further information about the t itle to the land currently occupied by Torridon Primary School and schoolhouse. In response the council’s legal team has undertaken extensive research to clarify the title and ownership aspects, which has taken time but which has ensured that whatever is ultimately decided, the path for any future use of the building is clearer. The council’s title to Torridon School (including the school grounds and schoolhouse) is a feu charter by Duncan Darroch of Gourock and Torridon in favour of The School Board of the Parish of Applecross recorded in the Division of the General Register of Sasines applicable to the County of Ross and Cromarty on 23rd August 1875.
It is believed that The National Trust for Scotland is the current owner of the surrounding Torridon Estate.
The papers state that "from an examination of the title it would appear that there is nothing in terms of the Council’s title which would prevent the Council transferring the property to another party. Any application for a Community Asset Transfer, following any future closure of the school, would need to demonstrate a level of community benefit commensurate with the value of the site.
"The school playground is an amenity for local children. The land occupied by the playpark is owned by the council and is classed as Housing Revenue Account Land. This means any transfer of the site would require the consent of the Council as well as the Scottish Government. There is, additionally, a clause of pre-emption which prevents any sale without first having offered the same to the National Trust for Scotland."
The paper concludes: "Taking the above into account Highland Council recommends that Torridon Primary School, currently 'mothballed', is closed and the catchment area assigned either to Shieldaig Primary School.
"The Council must formally consult on changes to provision. This consultation paper is issued in terms of the authority’s agreed procedures to meet the relevant statutory requirements. Following the consultation period, a report and submissions received will be presented to the Education Committee of the Highland Council."
Anyone unable to attend the public meeting can still take part in the consultation by visiting the Council’s website. The Proposal Paper and associated documents are available at www.highland.gov.uk/schoolconsultations.
The consultation will run until Friday, April 21.
