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School Closures


Todd
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would not call 1 1/2 days education as enough. thought they had a commitment to retain schools on the isles. if we kept kids off for 3 1/2 days the council would prosecute us. good on the folks from shropshire moving  rhere. but i wonder do they know how isolated it will be. 

 

if they fudge there duty there then whats stopping them doing it else were. personally i would not want to be there with young children without near emergency help. no other kids to mix with either. would it not be cheaper to depopulate papa and pay compo to the moved folks. 13 is not sustainable.    

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I also listened to Radio Shetland yesterday evening.

 

The school will be open two days a week and complemented with home tuition.

 

Seems a fair compromise to me.

 

Is it? Given the climate and attitude within the SIC towards education elsewhere in Shetland, perhaps closing and selling the Papa Stour school building, and adopting a policy of running the ferry two days per week to coincide with the regular school bus out/in of West Burrafirth would be an equally fair/cost effective/cheaper? compromise.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I think this is one of the problems, no one can keep up to date with what is going on. There was a consultation meeting in Whalsay last night and one in Yell tonight. 

 

The overall feeling of last nights meeting was that none of the officials were listening.

 

One proposal is to close Whalsay secondary with children leaving at the end of p7 to live in hostel accommodation in Lerwick. Numbers are around 50-70. They would also required transport for  children on a Sunday evening going to Lerwick then returning home on Friday evening.  

 

The other option is to close S4 in Whalsay. Everyone, again, would require accommodation and transport. There is no option to return to Whalsay for education if you can't manage in Lerwick (as it was in previous years).

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Sorry to hear that Whalsay are now going through the process.

 

Skerries children had a 99% attendance record in Skerries, this is now way below due to lack of escorts, bullying, and feeling homesick, and we are now going into the bad weather period.

 

What education gain? What financial savings?

 

Officials are not interested in the truth.

 

If you can not save Skerries secondary school you can not save any of them.

 

Give Skerries its Secondary back.

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Well I am not a child and I do not have a child due to go through the educational system for the Isles schools but I am certain that the consultations are false as the people in Hayfield House have made up their minds what they want and only the elected councillors or the Scottish Government can stop them.

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What is going on here cannot be called Democracy. Going completely against the will of the community and the electorate under the pretence of a better education but in reality to attempt to make questionable savings. Disgusted to the core. It seems the Council will not be happy until all the Islands and most rural areas are completely depopulated. 

 

I personally wrote an email to Tavish Scott about the issue but have yet to receive a reply. There should be some accountability here, elected officials should not simply be able to have a mock consultation, ignore its findings and do what they wanted from the beginning anyway to the detriment of the very people they are supposed to represent!

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