News / Olnafirth closure a soft target
PARENTS in Voe have vowed to lobby Scottish education secretary Mike Russell to call in a council decision to close Olnafirth primary school.
Councillors decided by 17 votes to four to close the tiny school in the summer of next year, saving almost £100,000 from the education budget.
Earlier on Thursday, the council’s education committee had recommended to go ahead with the closure.
Councillors heard that the school had effectively closed itself as two-thirds of Voe parents had already opted to send their primary children to the larger school in Brae, five miles down the road.
The remaining eight pupils at Olnafirth will transfer to Brae as of August 2014.
Councillor for the area Andrea Manson said the council had to take some responsibility as the Damocles sword of closure had been hanging over the school for the last five years.
Fellow north councillor Alastair Cooper reminded his colleagues that the council had only recently spent £200,000 on fixing the school’s roof.
Chairman of the Olnafirth parent council David McDowall said the school was always seen as a soft target because of the falling roll and the vicinity to neighbouring Brae.
He said the educational case had not been made, and added that parents in the village would meet on Friday to discuss their next steps.
“We are disappointed but we expected this to happen. The decision can be called by Scottish ministers, and there is a potential that this is what we are asking them to do,” he said.
Parent Elisabeth McDowall said her family had moved to Shetland two years ago and were delighted with the progress their two children had been making at the school.
“The education at Olnafirth is fantastic and they are turning into happy and confident children. It is not just the education but they are also developing socially very well,” she said.
Councillors were at pains to point out that the educational achievements of the Olnafirth school were “exceptional”, but added that at Brae children would benefit from access to a larger peer group and more specialised lessons.
Committee chairwoman Vaila Wishart said no one liked closing schools but on this occasion it looked “as though the school was closing itself”.
“I think we took the right decision. The arguments produced by children’s services are good and solid arguments, and that is why I moved the recommendation.
“I am a great supporter of small primary schools, but by small I mean between 100 and 150 pupils. When you come down to single figures, I think it is better to consider if there are not more opportunities and more social interaction by closing the school.
“The Voe children already are meeting more of the other kids from their area at Brae Primary School.”
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