SIC to keep Papa Stour school mothballed

THE PAPA Stour Primary School will remain mothballed, it has been confirmed.

A spokesperson for Shetland Islands Council (SIC) said children’s services director Samantha Flaws has made the decision not to progress with the school’s reopening.

The matter came to the table after a couple of families with children moved to the island last year.

However, it is understood one of the families has since left Papa Stour.

The small school was mothballed in 2016 due to declining pupil numbers.

Under refreshed guidelines approved by councillors in September, reopening a mothballed school on ‘Islands with Small Populations’ – Fair Isle, Foula, Papa Stour, Skerries and Fetlar – will be considered when families move into the island.

Under these guidelines a “trigger event” occurred last year in Papa Stour.

Explaining the decision-making process, a spokesperson for the SIC said: “In line with the ‘Reopening a Mothballed School Procedure’ approved by councillors in September 2024, the Mothballing Project Board met on 23 January 2025.

“The board discussed a report which included a summary of the current position of Papa Stour Primary School and relevant impact assessments.

“After careful consideration, the board recommended to the Director of Children’s Services that the school remains mothballed.

“Due to the confidential nature of the report, we’re unable to comment further.”

Jane Puckey, who represents Papa Stour on the Sandness and Walls Community Council, said in response to the latest development that the SIC has a “legal responsibility to provide education for children living in the outer isles, but how this will be adequately achieved remains to be seen”.

Currently Shetland has four mothballed schools – Papa Stour, Skerries, Fetlar and Skeld, with the latter closing to pupils earlier this year.

In 2023/24 it cost the SIC around £1,500 to maintain the mothballed Papa Stour primary school.