Permanent closure of Torridon Primary School agreed by Highland Council as decision now passed to Scottish Government
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THE decision to permanently close a Ross-shire primary school has been agreed by Highland Council.
Anyone with a contrary view over the future of moth-balled Torridon Primary School has the opportunity to lobby the Scottish Government which itself has an eight-week period to decide whether to review the decision or not.
The decision over the Wester Ross primary, ratified by Highland Council last week, follows a consultation period as laid down by statute.
The school has been moth-balled since 2012.
The local authority had formally proposed to discontinue the provision of education at Torridon Primary and to reallocate its catchment area to that of Shieldaig Primary School.
Background papers issued at the time of the closure consultation stated that the proposal was being advanced 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.
All school closures in Scotland must be ratified by Scottish Ministers.
Highland Council said today: "We have notified Scottish Ministers of our decision. They have an eight-week period from the date of our decision to decide if they will intervene by issuing a call-in notice. Within the first three weeks of that eight-week period, they will take account of any relevant representations made to them by any person on whether the decision should be called in, or not called in, for review by a School Closure Review Panel."
Anyone wishing to make a representation to the Scottish Ministers is asked to email schoolclosure@gov.scot or write to the School Infrastructure Unit, Scottish Government, 2-D (S) Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ, by midnight on Wednesday, October 4 at the latest.
Full details of the reasons for the recommendation are contained within the Final Report and associated papers, which can be accessed at www.highland.gov.uk/schoolconsultations.
