School dinners get dropped off by drone

PUPILS in Scotland’s remotest schools could have their lunches delivered by drone if a trial proves successful.

In what is thought to be the first initiative of its kind in the UK, Argyll and Bute council is teaming up with Skyports, a drone specialist, to trial the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) in delivering school meals.

The trial will involve drones delivering meals prepared in Park Primary School in Oban to Lochnell Primary, also in the town, just under a mile away.

Robin Currie, the council’s leader, described Argyll and Bute as “the perfect location to test the efficiency of drone technology” and said the use of drones could bring “staggering” opportunities to improve services in the area, which has 23 inhabited islands.

The council has received £170,000 of UK Government Community Renewal funding for the work, with further funds expected to enable the construction of a UAV logistics and training hub at Oban Airport by March 2025.

Alex Brown, head of drone deliveries at Skyports, said the drones had a capacity of 6.6lb (3kg), which was “clearly not sufficient for feeding a classroom of hungry students”, but that the trial was “an important stage in the development of deliveries of this type”.

Iain Stewart, a Scotland Office Minister, said: “The use of drones has massive potential for improving public services for the region’s communities.”