News / The bell tolls for Bressay primary
THE primary school on the isle of Bressay is to close this summer after a dramatic drop in pupil numbers.
On Monday Shetland Islands Council’s education and families committee unanimously agreed to close Bressay primary school and transfer its four pupils to Bell’s Brae primary school in nearby Lerwick.
The committee heard the majority of parents from Bressay were already taking their children to school in the capital.
The move, which was not part of the council’s Blueprint for Education strategy to save money by closing schools, will save the local authority around £75,000 a year.
Lerwick North councillor Michael Stout, who lives on the island, said it was “difficult “ for him to vote in favour of closure.
However he said he was not dispirited as the school’s fate had triggered the Bressay community to start working on regenerating the island.
The committee heard that only four of the island’s 16 primary age and none of the four pre-school children were attending the local school.
Councillor Billy Fox said the school was effectively “closing itself” and wondered if it could be mothballed for a number of years.
However he was advised by the council’s solicitor Kristen Johnston that a school could not be mothballed if it was still attended by pupils, as it would leave the door open to a legal challenge by parents or the government.
“Mothballing a school where the roll is not zero (is) acting outwith your statutory duties,” she said.
To open the school again, the council would need to go through the statutory consultation process, she added.
The committee heard from August this year, Bressay pupils will be picked up by taxi, taken on the ferry and then driven straight to Bell’s Brae – a 35 minute journey.
Ferry manager Ken Duerden said an additional ferry run might have to be added in the morning to deal with the extra commuter traffic.
Speaking after the decision, Stout said the situation was unfortunate but he was hopeful that the community will “capitalise on the crisis”.
“There is a level of acceptance in the community that the school is closing, however the parents who have kept the school going feel bitter about it,” he said.
“But people now realise that there is a problem here. We have become more and more a commuter island and that has changed the way the community operates.
“This has forced us to look more closely at what we want Bressay to look like, and this has been reflected in the number of people that attended the first workshops of the new Bressay Development Association.
“The community needs to decide what they want. If we as councillors have a clear message from them it puts us in a better position to respond to that.”
The decision will have to be ratified by the full council on Wednesday.
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