Teaching at Clatt School to end Friday, July 1 after Aberdeenshire Council mothballs school
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AFTER serving the community for generations, Clatt School will close its doors indefinitely tomorrow (Friday, July 1) after being mothballed.
Aberdeenshire Council has confirmed that Clatt village school will not reopen for the new term, after the number of pupils expected to return from the summer holidays dropped to five.
The mothballing means the school will now stay shut indefinitely, subject to annual review.
A spokesperson for Aberdeenshire Council said: "For the new August term in Clatt, we are projected to have five children left at the school, so mothballing from then is felt to be the most appropriate course of action at this time.
"The decision to mothball a school is never an easy one.
"It is an option delegated to Aberdeenshire Council's director of education and children's services in order to support the best educational and social outcomes for children and young people and will be reviewed annually.
"Any permanent change would require the procedure in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 to be followed, involving robust engagement with parents and local communities.”
After the summer, ex-Clatt pupils will have to travel by bus to school in either Kennethmont or Rhynie.
Pupils are already enrolled in the schools they will attend after the holidays.
Aberdeenshire Council staff have been meeting parents of Clatt pupils since the Spring, and have organised transition days for pupils.
The Council statement said: “Mothballing a school gives the opportunity for it to re-open should circumstances change.
"We know the educational and social benefits of having a sizeable group of peers to interact with are extensive.
"Sometimes this isn't possible when a school roll falls below eight pupils, particularly if the pupils are split across year groups, so mothballing is an interim arrangement in the best interest of young people."
Russell Rennie (41) has two daughters at the school, going into Primary 2 and Primary 5 after the summer holidays, and his family have attended Clatt School for four generations.
Mr Rennie said: "The school is the centre and the heart of any community.
"It is going to be a very big loss to the community, but you have to take a step back and look at things and be realistic.
"It will be an exceedingly sad day to see this go but it wasn't a surprise to us.
"Children receive an absolutely fantastic education at Clatt School and the teaching staff is great, but we do understand that you can't keep a school open for only six children."
Despite being upset at the loss of the school, Mr Rennie is hopeful his children will benefit from the new situation.
He said: "Aberdeenshire Council kept us well informed about what is going to be happening.
"It will be a big change, but a slightly larger school will hopefully give the children more social interaction.
"Both of my daughters already know some of the other pupils at their new school, so they are quite looking forward to it.
"They understand that things move on and they are looking forward to making new friends at their new schools."
A representative for Clatt School was approached for this article but said they could not provide a comment.
