Sunday 22 December 2024
 6.1°C   W Moderate Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

News / Communities unite to defend their schools

SHETLAND’S rural communities threatened with the loss of S3 and S4 education in their local junior high schools have banded together to stand against council cuts.

Communities United for Rural Education (CURE) want a “positive dialogue” with Shetland Islands Council to create an “educational strategy” that reflects the islands’ geography.

The group say the council’s plans to centralise education in Lerwick’s Anderson High School will create a two tier system that threatens “the very interconnectivity that glues smaller communities together”.

They warn that transporting youngsters long distances to school and keeping them in hostels during the working week will “erode communities”.

They also argue that the council has achieved its savings targets for the past five years and should not be forcing through such damaging policies.

CURE secretary Gordon Thomson, from Unst, said: “CURE is an umbrella group bringing together all the active groups and individuals to maximise effectiveness of resources and views.

“This is the most important issue placed before Shetland in terms of what we wish our society to be in the future.

“If healthy rural communities are no longer part of the corporate plan then Shetland needs to seriously reconsider how it views herself.”

CURE was formed in the aftermath of the council meeting held on 13 November when the SIC backed a plan by education consultant Don Ledingham to teach all pupils from S3 up in the high schools in Lerwick and Brae.

The meeting witnessed a huge demonstration of parents opposed to the plans in which they linked hands to surround Lerwick Town Hall where the meeting was taking place.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Categories
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.