Moray Council to formally carry out closure of Inveravon Primary School to end 390 years of education in rural community
NEARLY four centuries of education in a rural Speyside community will formally come to an end after Moray Council agreed to permanently close a local primary school today.
The council undertook a consultation on the closure of Inveravon Primary School from August 29 to October 7 last year following a period of informal engagement.
Last month, the council’s Education, Children's and Leisure Services Committee agreed to recommend to full council that the school should be permanently closed.
That decision was agreed upon by councillors today and the council will now formally carry out the school's closure.
Leader of the council, Cllr Kathleen Robertson (Conservative, Forres) said: "Considering the closure of a school is always difficult as we know how much they mean to our communities, families and young people across Moray.
"We must consider, however, what is best educationally for our young people in the Inveravon catchment area, both now and in the future, and we are satisfied this decision brings educational benefits.
"Most parents and children support the proposal to close the school and extending the catchment to the three neighbouring schools will offer maximum parental choice."
Education has been provided in the small rural community of Inveravon since 1633.
However, the current school was mothballed in August 2017 after the number of pupils dropped from 13 to zero.
The council say that there have been no requests from parents to enrol a child at Inveravon in the intervening years.
Cllr Juli Harris (SNP, Speyside and Glenlivet) said that the decision to close the school was a 'poignant moment'.
She added: "The school has served the rural community well for decades but I understand that it is no longer viable to keep it open with the decline of the rural population.
"I therefore support what the council is doing."
The majority of the 15 children in Inveravon's traditional catchment area have been attending Aberlour Primary School. The rest go to Glenlivet and Knockando.
Scottish ministers will now be notified of the council’s decision and provided with copies of the proposal document and consultation report.
However, representation can still be made over the next three weeks to support or oppose the closure.
Ministers will then have a further five weeks to decide if there are grounds to investigate the council's decision.
The closure cannot be implemented until ministers have reached a final decision.
Any submission should be emailed to schoolclosure@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or posted to The Scottish Government, School Infrastructure Unit, 2A (South) Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ by midnight on Wednesday, June 14 2023.
The council's proposal and consultation report can be found here.