Fife school closed for having no pupils

An empty school means it will have to close.

A school in Fife is to be temporarily closed because it has no pupils.

Gateside Primary School will be mothballed after officers at the education and children’s services committee told councillors that there are no pupils enrolled this year – and none are expected in the following academic year.

There are pupils within the catchment area, but parents opted to send their children to Strathmiglo Primary instead, leaving Gateside empty.

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Councillor Julie Ford asked: “How long would it be left in this mothballed state, before we would address a permanent closure?”

Shelagh McLean, head of early years and directorate support, said that a review was planned in October 2019, adding: “At this point, we don’t have any major housebuilding planned for that area that would contribute to an increased school role.

“There is currently only 11 pupils in the catchment area and they have all opted to go to the bigger school.

“We would do a review in October and if at that point there was still a suggestion that the school role would be unlikely to increase, we would then bring forward a report to this committee that would look at a permanent closure of the primary.”