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Eleven schools in the Western Isles have been axed after a prolonged  council meeting late on Thursday night.

 

Earlier attempts by some councillors to seek allies to save a package of schools ended in vain.

 

As midnight beckoned, councillors had voted for the wholesale closure of  all eleven schools in the current spotlight  despite a series of lengthy pleas for reprieves.

 

Cross, Sandwickhill and Scalpay schools fell within seconds as no councillor objected to getting rid of them.

 

All pupils have already voluntarily left Daliburgh secondary and Stoneybridge schools and there was no dispute about their closure.

 

But last minute individual fights were mounted for the survival of six schools.

 

Balallan, Bragar, Carloway primaries and Lionel secondary were voted shut  and the final two - Shawbost secondary and Seilebost - were anticipated to suffer the same fate.

 

Extra seats were needed for campaigners and a protest banner pleading for “Vision for Seilebost School” was held aloft.

 

Education chair Morag Munro said the closures were forced by island school rolls halving in last 30 years with a knock-on effect on funding and deteriorating school buildings.

 

Western Isles Council highlights falling number of children means empty classrooms in too many crumbling schools which would cost about £40 million to improve.

 

It insists the new Curriculum for Excellence cannot be delivered properly in the rural S2 schools.

 

Protestors say it rips the heart out of districts, deters young families from locating there and conflicts with the council’s rhetoric to help regenerate rural communities, particularly those in recent land buyouts.

 

Last night was part of a strategy to slash half the number of island schools potentially leaving just 21 units.

 

Even if it doesn’t get European funding, the council promises to set up evening activities like sport and music for children in their own home districts as staying for after-school clubs would excessively lengthen the school day for many who live far from the centralised schools.

 

Cllr Agnes Rennie deplored “forcing very young children to leave home very early in the morning to return very late at night” to travel about 60 miles daily to Stornoway.

 

She said parents also feared bullying on long bus journeys

 

Cllr Iain Morrison warned it “signalled the death of communities as we know them.”

 

Iain Mackay said: “This is a very sad day for education in these islands. We are putting money before education.”

 

He stated: “Ness pupils are travelling on a bus when their classmates are still in bed” and tiredness over the long day would restrict their academic performance.  

 

Cllr Norman A Macdonald highlighted the council’s £125 million drive to build six new schools of new-build schools would result in modern campuses for 40% of schools pupils.

 

He added it reflected the “council’s commitment to provide education fit for the  21st century for young people in our islands.”

 

Mr Macdonald highlighted that - councillors had previously agreed “that by 2012 S1 / S2 would be gone.”

 

They had agreed the rural secondaries “could not deliver Curriculum for Excellence.”

 

Council leader Angus Campbell warned against the damaging move of “protecting our own back yard” by councillors voting for specific schools in their wards.

 

He said the closures were driven by three main factors previously agreed by councillors - the state of the buildings, the number of pupils and the distance to the nearest schools.”

 

He added the council was trying to fairly “direct our resources to ensure all our children got best education.”

 

Mr Campbell said that the S1 / S2 rural schools “is not the right way to advance education in these islands.”

 

He stressed that for the transit to the receiving schools the council “must sort, must put right” the numerous concerns over transport provision.

 

It requires to “resolve the issue of distance and travel.”

 

Cllr Charlie Nicolson said that putting pupils in hostels was “going back in time. I believe in S1 / S2 schools but many in this chamber don’t.”  

 

Cllr Iain Morrison said: “It’s supposed to be about education but we know iits about money too.”

 

Catherine Macdonald said it was “very sad” that not one single school was reprieved despite councillors putting forward “excellent” arguments.

 

She urged an exception for Seilebost as community regenerations plans were just begining to show results.

 

She said: “They are very determind to make a success of it. I very much hope the council would give them a chance to do that.”

 

Education vice-chair Catriona Stewart stressed: ““We do take cognisance of the plans of the West Harris Trust and we applaude them for their efforts” but councillors have their own decisions to make.

 

She said that other districts reported new housing often made no difference to increasing a school roll.

 

Ms Stewart said that children suffered disadvantages in small cohorts - not just in the classroom but also in the playground.

 

Cllr Philip Mclean said: “West Harris development plans are ambitious. They have real drive and vision behind them. ”

 

But he was berated by some collagues when he took “issue of the leader’s (Angus Campbell) veiled criticism” against those who argued to retained schools.

 

He said it was a “shame and disgrace“ and was “bad for democracy that pupils and parents of Sandwickhill school did not have option for debate over their school,” as Mr Campbell consented to its closure.

 

Angus Campbell said he had discussed the issues with Sandwick parents.

 

He said: “It is very hard to close your local school but that debate has taken place in our locality. People know exactly where I stand.

 

 

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All eleven threatened schools are axed        5/11/10