Teacher quits two years after landing ‘dream’ job on island

SHE arrived in a blaze of publicity after swapping her life in Hampshire for the Inner Hebrides.

But two years after landing the post of headteacher at a school of only eight pupils, Laura Marriner is leaving.

Mrs Marriner attracted headlines in 2016 when she was accepted for the job on the Isle of Muck.

The tiny primary school, which is expecting an enrolment of only six Primary 1-7 pupils and three nursery pupils this August, has been forced to advertise the position again.

Islanders did not disclose the reason for Mrs Marriner’s departure but said they were ‘looking to the future’ to find the right person who could cope with island life, as well as teach. Mrs Marriner, who had worked with Hampshire County Council, left Andover to start her new post in November 2016. She was 31 at the time and, with husband Dean, 33, and children, Charlie, five, and Atticus, 20 months, the family was seen as a huge boost to the island, which has a permanent population of about 40.

There are currently nine pupils and one child in nursery in the school – including the two Marriner children – but another family is due to arrive soon and the numbers will stay the same.

The £41,418-a-year principal teacher job, which comes with a generous relocation package, is being advertised on the island’s Facebook page to attract worldwide interest. A school flat, with stunning views, is provided for rent.

Mary Fichtner-Irvine, who chairs Muck Primary School Parent Council, said Mrs Marriner would leave at the end of term but declined to say why she was going. Nearly 60 people applied for the job given to Mrs Marriner, who said, after being appointed: ‘I’ve never done anything this brave before.’

Highland Council thanked Mrs Marriner for her ‘excellent service’, wishing her ‘all the best in the future’.

Muck, ten miles south-west of Arisaig, Argyll, is the smallest of the Small Isles at only two miles long.