Council seeks to permanently close two defunct schools

A consultation will be launched to determine the fate of two mothballed Perthshire schools.

Parents will be asked their views on proposals to permanently close Struan and Straloch primaries.

Both schools were originally earmarked for the axe in 2010, but were officially mothballed in line with a Scottish Government moratorium on rural school closures.

The consultation, which gets under way next month, will consider proposals to permanently discontinue education at both schools from March 31 next year.

Pupils in the Struan catchment area will be moved to Blair Atholl Primary, while youngsters at Straloch will go to Kirkmichael.

A public meeting will be held at Kirkmichael Primary School on Tuesday September 13 from 7pm and a second session will take place at Blair Atholl on Tuesday September 20 at the same time.

Opinions will also be gathered online and in writing.

In a report to the council’s lifelong learning committee in 2011, then executive director of education and children’s services John Fyfe said the roll at Straloch had declined dramatically over the years with just two pupils in 2011, both of whom lived outwith the catchment zone.

The consultation period, which began on Wednesday, will run until Wednesday September 28. All feedback will be used to shape a follow-up report for councillors.

The exercise is separate to a wider school estate review which is expected to be launched by councillors next week. The move, which will assess capacity and condition, could lead to school closures.