WHERE THERE’S MUCK... THERE’S A CLASS
Wanted: one teacher for only seven pupils on a remote Scottish island. And the applications have flooded in
IT IS a job that offers life in a remote rural idyll taken to the extreme. On the tiny windswept Scottish island of Muck there are no shops, no police force, no post box and only one narrow road that stretches a single mile down the length of the island.
Birds and sheep outnumber humans and the sense of freedom as you gaze across the sea to Ardnamurchan Point on the mainland is awe-inspiring.
But Muck has got a problem. Its school, where seven primaryaged children are taught in the same classroom, needs a new teacher.
After the previous seven applicants all changed their mind, the island’s exasperated parents have taken to Facebook to appeal for a determined permanent replacement to take up the role in a place which, although idyllic in summer, can be cut off for days in the winter.
“Still wanted!” the advert declares. “A fantastic teacher who can work across the primary age group and has lots of enthusiasm, patience, understanding, drive, a love of the outdoors with good waterproofs.
“The ability to wear several different hats (teacher/partner/ community member), able to survive on a very small Scottish island that has no shop and can be cut off at times but has a lovely community with fun social events and a wonderful mix of about 40 people. It can be bleak in the winter but also beautiful in the summer.”
Applications closed yesterday. A spokesperson for The Highland Council said that it had received a huge number of enquiries from around the world and would be in touch with applicants soon.
“Would you consider Spanish teachers applying for this role!!” [sic] wrote Beatriz Coque on the islanders’ Facebook page. Several teachers from the
ISLE BE THERE FOR YOU…
Australia, Thailand, Italy and the US.
In the post, shared almost 5,000 times online, the perfect candidate was described as an individual who can at 2am “resolve a disagreement originating hours beforehand regarding the merits of sea salt versus rock salt between a couple of drunk chefs”.
Most crucially any prospective candidate should be able to show “unflinching confidence to know what to do when you are alerted to an Falkland Islands – who know a thing or two about a desolate life – also expressed an interest online.
The outgoing teacher Julie Baker says her replacement will need to arrive prepared to cope with challenging conditions.
“It’s a short distance from the school to the hall and some days we wouldn’t try that. It would be too windy and too risky taking the children in that direction,” reveals Julie, abandoned seal pup making its way up the main street”.
Taylor finally explained in a later post that the job was only open to serving police officers from Devon and Cornwall Police. PC Nick Gould was duly appointed. LAST year tiny Bardsey Island off the North Wales coast advertised for a manager. The job, paying only £16,000 a year, offered six months of solitude on the 1.5-mile long island before welcoming who is leaving the island for “family reasons” after a “wonderful” two-and-a-half years.
This rugged professional will need to be a mix of Bear Grylls and Harry Potter’s Professor McGonagall and similarly content with simple pleasures.
Any desire to wander around shops requires an 18-mile ferry journey to the mainland. Letters and the doctor have to come by boat.
But at least there is power. Muck, which is part of the Inner Hebrides, was without 24-hour electricity until 2013. Before then residents were rationed to 10 hours a day.
ALTHOUGH there are challenges, the job also comes with rewards. And not just the fact that the teaching post comes with an apartment above the school.
“It’s a beautiful island with a strong sense of community,” says one of the parents Mark Johnson. “Everybody helps each other out.”
Hopefully it won’t be too long until the right candidate is appointed but until a permanent replacement can be found, David, Jasper, Daniel, Kitty, Willow, Tara and Hugh will be taught by supply teachers.
In an interview with the BBC the children explained that their requirements were quite straightforward. They are hoping for a “fun, imaginative and happy teacher”.
Waterproofs not optional. boatloads of nature lovers in the summer months. BILLY MUIR MBE is a rugged pensioner who holds down more than 10 jobs on the Orkney island of North Ronaldsay including firefighter, air-traffic controller, taxi driver, lighthouse keeper, shepherd, tour guide, mechanic, stonemason and parish councillor. “I’m far too young to retire. I don’t plan on doing that any time soon,” says the 67-year-old.