Forteviot Primary to shut its doors for good

A mothballed Perthshire primary school is set to be permanently closed.

At a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s lifelong learning committee on Wednesday, elected members agreed to start the process to formally shut Forteviot Primary School for good.

The site has been mothballed since 2016 after the roll fell to three pupils.

The children were then moved to nearby Forgandenny Primary School, and the committee was told they had settled well and enjoyed being there.

A public consultation was held last year to review the school’s catchment area, but it concluded the roll could not be brought up to a sustainable level.

Cllr Henry Anderson, one of the Almond and Earn ward representatives, said he thought Forteviot school should be reopened for the children at the nearby Oudenarde housing development, who currently travel to Perth to attend Inch View Primary School.

However, education officials said there would be too many children once the whole development is completed as Forteviot primary has a capacity for only 50 youngsters.

Cllr Anderson said:“This is very unfortunate for Forteviot school.

“With the troubled Oudenarde development the decision was made to move the children from a very rural area to an urban school and the reason I’m saying this is an issue for children is because they are getting an urban education.

“And although it is well-rounded, it has nothing to do with their rural area.

“If they were educated in the lower Earn area they would have more of an idea of their rural surroundings, such as farm safety, the environment and the agricultural industry. The children have been deprived of this in this urban school.”

Cllr Willie Wilson, who represents Inch View school as a City South councillor, replied:“I think there is a very good education at Inch View.

“In a perfect world we want rural schools to continue but there has been a change in land-based industries and a reduction in the population base living in the countryside.

“It would be lovely for an influx of folk to Forteviot, but it’s not going to happen. We need to face up to that.”

Cllr Kathleen Baird, who also represents Almond and Earn, said:“We have watched the school roll going down and there has been no new house-building in Forteviot for years.

“Two parents said they would not send their children back [to Forteviot] as they’re happy at Forgandenny.

“In our hearts we want to keep Forteviot open and I’m sorry to see it happen, but we need to be realistic and the children are happy at Forgandenny.”

The motion to close Forteviot was passed unanimously.

Speaking afterwards, Paul Vallot from Earn Community Council said:“I am very disappointed. I can see why they made the decision, but from the point of view of the community it’s very damaging, I don’t know how one maintains a community without a school.

“There needs to be a general rethink about how we support rural areas, because the loss of community in Forteviot is a very important fact that has not been looked at.”