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School Closure

From Moriston Matters, Issue 23, February 1981.

A meeting for parents of school and pre-school children in the area was held in Invermoriston School on Thursday 29th January under the chairmanship of Mr A.W. MACKENZIE, the Regional Councillor. Most of the children were represented by one or both parents, and an ever-increasing number of the public filled the back of the room as they arrived for the meeting advertised to take place immediately after the parents' meeting. On entering the classroom all passed three silent former pupils proclaiming their message on placards - "SAVE OUR SCHOOL - STOP HIGHLAND CLEARANCES". "20 MILES A DAY IS TOO FAR FOR WEE ONES". "DON'T KILL A COMMUNITY FOR £1.500".

Mr MacKenzie introduced MR. MURDO GILLIES the Assistant Division-al Education Officer who stressed that he was present not to make proposals, but to hear the parents' comments on the suggestion that to meet part of the 3% cut imposed by the Government on all Regional Education Committee budgets for 1981-82 (in the case of the Highland Region - £973,000), seventeen primary schools, including Invermoriston, and one secondary department should be temporarily closed. This, it was reckoned, would save £240,000. The Fort Augustus School Council had already been consulted and had decided to oppose the closure. All relevant opinions expressed were to be presented to a meeting of the Education Committee on March, 18th.

A breakdown of the £1,500 estimated in the case of Invermoriston School revealed that the biggest aspects of the saving would be in Property Costs (£1,724) and School Meals (£1,250) and that additional costs for the extra transport involved in taking the children to Fort Augustus would be about £1,280. At this point one of the parents asked whether, if they were all willing to provide their children with packed lunches and dispense with the School Meals service, the saving would not be enough to justify the school being kept open, and Mr Gillies took note of this idea.

One of the criteria used in deciding to suggest closing a school was that the alternative educational provision should not be of a lesser quality than the pupils already enjoyed, and Mr Gillies explained in answer to several questions that, in the main, children benefited from a larger set-up where there was more incentive for them to make an effort, although he conceded that some children, on the other hand, benefited from being the only one a class. When asked next why, if the educational advantage was so clear, the closure was to be only temporary, he replied that maybe, if at some future date after closure the reopening of the school was proposed, the parents would turn out to protest at that!

Points were made about the number of very young children on the roll and the expected intake in Primary I next session, and the expected building project which it was hoped would attract more families and increase the roll still further. But it was unlikely that young families would be attracted if they were told there was no school. Why speak about the evils of the Highland Clearances and then perpetrate more of them?

Questions were asked about the details of the arrangements that would be made for the children's transport, bearing in mind the different starting and stopping times for the various departments of Fort Augustus school, and Mr Gillies replied that he had not gone into these aspects of the suggestion in detail or it might justifiably be claimed that he was presenting the parents with a fait accompli, but similar problems had arisen in other parts of the Highland Region and suitable arrangements been made to overcome them. Children in other localities were travelling twenty miles a day, but he agreed that the fact that other children were doing it was not an argument for Invermoriston children to do it.

The suggestion was made that there could perhaps be cuts at the top of the administration instead of at the end where small schools meant so much to communities, and Mr Gillies replied that one job had already disappeared and another change was in the pipeline, and that administrators were necessary - to receive complaints and attend to them, among other things.

It was claimed that parents are ultimately responsible for the education of their children,and if they are dissatisfied that should surely be taken into account, and Mr Gillies accepted this, but pointed not once again that if children would not be educationally disadvantaged in the main they are better in bigger numbers. To which came the reply that it was very hard to judge "educationally disadvantaged". The further point was made that children gain enormously from going to school in their own village, and the village of Invermoriston is very closely identified with its school.

On an individual vote being taken every parent expressed himself/herself as being against the closure. This concluded the parents' meeting and Mr MacKenzie thanked Mr Gillies for the helpful way he had conducted it.

PAT MACDONALD then took the chair at the public meeting and expressed pleasure at seeing so many people present since the issue before them was one of the most serious that had faced the community for some time, and after reports of the meeting of the Education Committee on December 23rd the Parents' Action Group had lost no time in raising the Standard against the proposed closure. He welcomed Mr MacKenzie and Mr Gillies who had stayed on, and also MR EVERETT and PADDY PATERSON.

Pat invited Mr MacKenzie to speak and he said that he was against the closure for many of the reasons already stated, but he was also Chairman of the Planning Committee and a member of the Regional Development Council,and from those points of view too he could not support the closure.

Paddy Paterson, the District Councillor, on being asked for his views, said that there did not seem to be much case for closing the school, and the case against the closure, as made out in the course of the evening, was far stronger. The idea perhaps looked all right on paper, but in the light of the children's welfare it was not a good idea. He thought a mistake had been made, and asked that wisdom should take it from there.

Mr Everett, on being called upon for his opinion, pointed out that he was wearing three hats that evening. Speaking as a private individual he said he was totally opposed to the closure. A school was the centre of a community. Take away the school and the community dies. Speaking as the headmaster of Fort Augustus School he said he stood to gain by the transfer of the pupils and Mrs Nicholson and he promised at in such an event there would he no slipping of educational standards. Transport could be arranged to suit different time-tables and young children would be supervised at all times of the school day. But he said that here too he must oppose the closure. If it was Invermoriston School today it would be Fort Augustus tomorrow, and he made the point that parents by whose choice children bypass the local school jeopardise that local school. Speaking as secretary of Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston Community Council he reported that at the meeting a couple of nights previously the Community Council had been 100% opposed to the closure of Invermoriston.

In answer to a question about possible further cuts reducing the teacher/pupil ratio he explained how Fort Augustus Primary School was fortunate in that the services of the specialist teachers provided for the Secondary School were available for it also. On the other hand, Invermoriston might find that the travelling teachers at present provided for it were withdrawn.

To the question, "If the people could raise £1,500 would you keep the school open?" and Mrs Nicholson's comment that the children had wanted to hold a sponsored walk to raise money for their school, Mr MacKenzie replied, "I think we would have to say, “These people most really want their school". Further points were made about the safety of the children travelling the extra mileage on the road; and about the cost of rehabilitating the building supposing it was closed and came to be reopened: and about the change in the rate of saving asked by the government from 3% to 2 1/2%,but here Mr MacKenzie said it was not yet decided to what sections of the community this relief should be applied.

Mr Everett further stated that if the population did increase after the school had been closed for a year or two parents of Invermoriston children who had reached the last stages of their primary education would possibly be unwilling to transfer them again.

A plea was made that since in the case of Invermoriston the arguments seemed to be largely spurious, the extra costs of transport more or less offsetting the estimated savings, especially if the parents were willing to give their children packed lunches. Invermoriston should be considered on its own merits when the collected opinions were under discussion at the meeting of the Education Committee in March, and an assurance was given that each school would have its own report considered separately.

The value of the quality of life and the identity of the children experienced in a village community as opposed to that in large concentrations of people was stressed by yet another speaker who said that there was no point in having a nation where people had Higher Leaving Certificates and no employment and where vandalism cut across a right way of life.

MR BUELL spoke of the sense of demoralisation that comes to a community of the size of Invermoriston - to children, teacher and parents - when it loses its school.

MR FRASER told how the District Council had decided to back the parents. He referred to Invermoriston's central position on the map and the fact that the school had been going for 100 years. Man does not live by bread alone and the school had propagated the word of God all that time.

On the call of the chairman for a show of hands the meeting was unanimous that the school should not be closed.

In conclusion MRS. NICHOLSON said she was pleased to see that so many people had turned out - new residents, old residents and natives. The community had, stated its case not less firmly, though less stridently, than some places and a petition signed by nearly everybody would be presented to the Education Committee. Pat thanked Mr Gillies for waiting for the public meeting and DAVID TRACEY thanked the chairman.

Everyone was thereafter invited to wait for a cup of tea served by MEGGIE and her helpers, and the tenseness of the early part of the meeting relaxed in a spirit of community friendship.

STAFF REPORTER