Campaigners delighted schools are saved 12/1/11
Donny Vann of Ness said: “It comes as no real surprise to me that Scottish Ministers have refused this application for closure.
“CnES failed the first time to convince Scottish Ministers that they had a robust case for closing Lionel Secondary and even a cursory review of what our Council termed a "consultation process" in this latest fiasco reveals that their case amounted to nothing more than the proverbial house built on sand.”
He added: “While the Chair of Education and Children’s Services may attempt to lay some blame on the fact that this is an election year and while the Council Leader is averse to allowing Ministers in Edinburgh to make decisions for us then I would argue that I credit Mr Russell and his Ministers with more integrity than what I have witnessed locally.
“Thank goodness we have recourse to the same Scottish Ministers who have proven, twice now, to be able to get to the real heart of the matter and reach an informed decision based on what the rural communities are telling them rather than what will serve the town of Stornoway best.”
On Lionel secondary school he said: “It is now time to put all this behind us and concentrate on what CAN be done to enhance an already successful school.
“It requires the will, it requires some hard work and, yes, it will require capital. It also requires innovation and forward thinking and it is the latter two criteria that, I fear, is in very short supply within CnES.
Former Carloway pupil Stephen Macleod who kick-
He said he was ecstatic that the council was halted in its tracks but accepted it was likely to wield the axe again.
Mr Macleod added: “Now the Community Association can get on with its regeneration plans.
“We will never give up the fight. We want to improve the community of Carloway and try to avoid a school closure threat in the future.”
He said shutting the school would badly impact on the community with the knock on consequence of potentially losing the attached village hall and agricultural show.
Isabel Jayne Macleod, who also went to Carloway but is now in Aberdeen University said: “We are all so very thankful to Mike Russell and the Government for stopping the closure.“
She added: “We really appreciate all the support that was given to the community while we campaigned for the school to remain open.
“We have faith that there's a bright future ahead for Carloway School and the whole community.”
Rev Stephen Macdonald, chair of Carloway School Parent Council said: “We are overjoyed, absolutely delighted.
“It isn’t a surprise because we had a strong case -
“We are very pleased and thrilled and thank our MSP, Alasdair Allan, for fighting with us all the way.”