Also in the news / Also in the news 4 February 2026
- Brae headteacher vacancy
- Fire station decisions delayed
- Community council’s wait for pool information
- EV charger changes
- Biotoxin testing
THE HEADTEACHER job at one of Shetland’s largest schools has become available.
The role at Brae High School, which covers early years to secondary six, comes with a salary of £85,635 per year.
Brae has a school roll of 340, with 182 in the secondary, 120 in primary and 38 in the nursery.
The prospective headteacher, who would be replacing the departing Logan Nicolson, could also be in post when a possible new Brae school is built.
Ground investigations recently got underway ahead of a full business case which is expected to come in front of councillors later this year.
THE SCOTTISH Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) says decisions on proposed changes to more than 30 stations in the country – including one in Shetland – have been delayed until after the parliament elections in May.
The SFRS is proposing to close the Fetlar fire station, which is dormant and has not been used in years.
The fire service is now highlighting that there are statutory restrictions that prevent public bodies such as SFRS from making significant announcements or policy decisions during the pre-election period, which commences in March.
The SFRS said final decisions on stations will now be made by the end of June.
THE SCALLOWAY Community Council says it will have to wait up to a fortnight before receiving more information from Shetland Recreational Trust (SRT) on the closure of the village’s pool.
The community council decided at a meeting on 19 January to write to the SRT with a list of questions about its decision to close the pool, which was announced a few days earlier.
It said it received an acknowledgement on Monday (2 February), with a commitment that the SRT responds to the community council’s letter by 16 February.
Writing on Facebook, the community council said: “We have been given no understanding of why this delay is necessary, assuming the SRT trustees and management have made a fully informed decision.”
The SRT previously said by deciding to close the pool at the end of March it was attempting to secure its wider long-term sustainability by consolidating leisure provision in Shetland – and pointed to Scalloway’s distance from other pools, such as the Clickimin in Lerwick.
THE COUNCIL says vehicle drivers in Shetland need to download a new app and/or order a new charging card by the beginning of March as the public charging network changes service provider to ScottishPower.
Twenty-eight public charge points across Shetland will be changed to ScottishPower when ChargePoint’s contract comes to an end this summer.
All EV drivers living in or visiting Shetland should complete these steps by the beginning of March:
• Download the ScottishPower Recharge app – free from the App Store or Google Play Store. The app allows drivers to find chargers, pay for charging and view charging history
• And/or order a new charging card – either a ScottishPower card through the app or a roaming card
The SIC’s energy efficiency team leader John Simpson said: “There are a number of charge points where migration might not be possible until the units are upgraded in the summer. Our energy efficiency team will provide further details as they become available.”
SHETLAND Analytical Services says it has secured a distribution agreement with Sensoreal, expanding access to rapid biotoxin testing solutions for the UK shellfish industry.
Through this agreement, Shetland Analytical Services provides biotoxin testing services to shellfish growers submitting samples for analysis and, for those that can carry out their own biotoxin testing, they can supply Sensoreal kits.
Managing director of Shetland Analytical Services Steven Laidlaw said: “As biotoxin risks and algal bloom events continue to increase across UK coastlines, Shetland Analytical Services is committed to working closely with shellfish growers to protect product integrity and support sustainable aquaculture.”
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