No imminent risk of school closures

There is no imminent risk of school closures in Orkney, after members of the OIC’s education, leisure and housing committee agreed with the recommendations of a report in front of them, to wait until further guidance has been given from the Scottish Government before any further action is taken.

It is expected that revised legislation regarding such matters will be drawn up by the Government in response to a recently published report by the Commission on the Delivery Of Rural Education.

In 2011, the Government placed a moratorium on school closures, at a time when three schools in the local authority area — North Walls Junior High School, Burray Primary School and Stenness Primary school — were at risk of closure.