Wanted, intrepid £49k a year teacher who’s a class apart
Vacancy arises in ‘the school at the end of the world’
RESIDENTS on the UK’s most remote inhabited island are seeking to recruit a new teacher for their tiny school.
Applicants for the job on the isle of Foula – which is surrounded by the Atlantic, 20 miles west of Shetland – need to be able to cope with hardships such as isolation, powercuts and storms.
But one problem they will definitely not face is classroom overcrowding.
For, when the new term starts, there will only be one pupil at the school. Nicknamed the Edge of the World, after the success of a film of the same name made there in the 1930s, the island has a population of just 32, and the primary school currently has two pupils – one is leaving for high school on the Shetland mainland after the summer.
The salary for the job is £49,000 a year, and a three-bed house on the island is provided for rent.
Jayne Smith, the current teacher, is leaving after three years. An advert on Shetland Council’s website invites experienced applicants for the teaching headteacher job.
Other staff are a cleaner and a clerical assistant, and there is an attached nursery which another two children also attend.
Miss Smith, 38, said she hoped any publicity would bring interest. ‘We want people to apply because it’s not just about the job. The job is a small part of it. It’s about being able to live on Foula, which is very isolated.
‘It’s all about reaching the right person. There’s that special person out there and I want to tell them about it.
‘The weather is the biggest challenge here. We are a 15 minute flight from the mainland and the plane is cancelled more often than it flies. I came thinking I would do a couple of years. Some people do backpacking. But I came to Foula and that has been my adventure. But I miss the mainland. I miss roads. There’s a single track road here – but there aren’t real roads. I want to go while I still love it here.’
She added: ‘I’m on my own. This would be an ideal post for someone who has a partner and a family.’
Asked what advice she would offer, she said: ‘You have to be organised. When I came I was prepared
‘I want to go while I still love it here’
– I was expecting there would no electricity.
‘Anything that you want you have to get shipped in.’
Foula, named from an Old Norse word for birds, is just nine square miles in size, is made up of crofting townships on a narrow coastal strip and is famous for boasting Shetland’s biggest and most spectacular cliffs.
There is a post office, but no shop or pub. Locals make a living by selling the native Shetland ponies and sheep to the mainland, as well as from tourism.
A post on the school’s Facebook page also states: ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is looking for an adventure. Please share this post to help us reach that special someone.’
Relocation costs will be paid. The closing date for applications is this Thursday, June 8.