A PERTHSHIRE special school, the very survival of which was in doubt just a few years ago, has been praised by school inspectors.

A falling school roll led to an uncertain future for the New School at Butterstone (pictured) which caters for “educationally fragile” children. Despite this the school has latterly enjoyed something of a renaissance.

Head teacher Bill Colley yesterday spoke out in the wake of a HMI report which praised improvements made over the last three years.

He indicated that the school is now thriving, with demand for places far exceeding supply.

Children from all over Scotland and further afield attend the residential school, which was established in 1992.

Mr Colley was quick to praise his colleagues for developments since the previous inspection in 2002 and singled out staff new to the school as having contributed a great deal.

“The success of any school depends on the quality of learning relationships between staff and pupils and it is gratifying to read that the inspectors regard New School provision as of a high quality,” he remarked.

“They have highlighted improvements in the level of support for learning for our pupils and in the very good quality of our reporting to parents.”

Mr Colley insisted that staff would not rest on their laurels but would continue to strive for further improvement.

“We feel there is still some way to go but with a new curriculum due to be introduced in September we are confident that the successes of recent years can be taken further,” he said.

The inspection report notes that the school has made “significant progress” since 2002, and that “pupils’ education, care and welfare needs receive good attention.”

The head teacher has worked very well to “improve relationships with parents and authorities,” these having “improved significantly” over the last three years.

The inspectors recommended that the school should continue to review curricular developments and to establish more comprehensive arrangements for quality assurance in evaluating the work of the school and in planning for improvement.

The school had also planned to increase care staffing levels and these arrangements have been brought forward to meet new standards introduced by the care commission.

Chairman of governors, Professor Bart McGettrick, congratulated staff at the school for their achievements.

“The New School is a national resource and, as such, must aspire to very high standards,” he said. “It is reassuring that the inspection report is so positive in its findings and credit must go to those who have worked so hard to make the school such a success in recent years.”

Just last week ambitious plans to create a new information technology and enterprise centre at the New School were unveiled.

The new building will provide a suite of networked computers. Wireless connections will serve all departments, allowing access to Email and the internet throughout the school.