Concerns that an increasing number of rural schools are being mothballed by local authorities were raised in the Scottish Parliament today.
Conservative MSP Alexander Burnett said the rising number of rural schools being closed by councils with the option to open again in the future was “a clear betrayal of our rural communities” and that Scottish government figures on the number of schools being mothballed were three years out of date.
He said figures had been shared with him on 3 June by education secretary Jenny Gilruth, showing there were 21 mothballed primary schools in Scotland,. But the figures related to 2021.
Mr Burnett, who is MSP for Aberdeenshire West, said that in Aberdeenshire Council alone there were now 14 mothballed schools, with 16 at risk.
He said two primary schools in his own constituency were under threat, Tullynessle School and Logie Coldstone.
Rural schools being mothballed
In the past mothballing was used by councils when a school roll fell to zero, with a view to reopening the school as and when there was demand. But campaigners say some authorities are now mothballing schools when the roll falls below a certain level.
In Aberdeenshire Council, families at Tullynessle Primary have been told it will close in August because the roll is set to drop below eight pupils - this is despite the school having a healthy nursery roll.
Sandy Longmuir, chair of the Scottish Rural Schools Network (SRSN), has described mothballing as “closure by stealth” and says the process is being used by councils to circumvent the legal protections given to rural schools.
These protections include that councils have to demonstrate they have considered alternatives to closure and that if a proposal is rejected it cannot be repeated for five years.
Responding to Mr Burnett today in the Scottish Parliament, Graeme Dey, the minister for higher and further education, said decisions around the closure and mothballing of schools were for local authorities to take.
He said ministers only had the power to call in a council’s decision to close a school if the closure was permanent.
“In relation to Tullynessle, that would appear not to constitute a permanent closure. However, my officials have written to the local authority to seek further information about their plans and to remind them in this instance of their responsibilities under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010,” Mr Dey added.
Mr Dey also said he would write to Mr Burnett with more up-to-date figures on the number of mothballed schools in Scotland.
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