A campaigning mum who was part of the successful community effort to keep Stracathro primary open is now leading a call for Angus Council not to consign Tarfside school to the history books.
Lianne MacLennan is urging the local authority to mothball the currently empty school rather than formally closing it under the Brechin cluster proposals within the authority’s ambitious Schools for the Future programme.
Tarfside and Lethnot are earmarked for closure, but Mrs MacLennan said shutting the primary at the head of Glenesk would extinguish any future hope of education provision for growing families in the area, or those considering a move to the rural community.
Her plea to mothball Tarfside and give it the same five-year moratorium as Stracathro follows a meeting last week involving the local community and council representatives.
The talks included possible future plans for the Tarfside building, as well as issues surrounding the handling of the wider consultation procedure which eventually led to the reversal of the plan to close Stracathro and move its pupils to an expanded Edzell primary.
Mrs MacLennan said: “Since the beginning of the consultation there have been changes in the glen.
“More families have moved in and residents are expecting – the pattern of the glens population is very much peaks and troughs.”
“There are currently four under-fives in the area, with another child due, so while the school number currently sits at zero we have a small core group of children that would be able to use the pre-school provisions and hopefully further their education at the primary.
“We would like to see the school mothballed as opposed to closed,” she added.
“This would make it a lot easier to reinstate should we need it in the future. We would also like to see the nursery opened and used.
“This would provide relief to the local catchment area and could see more children welcomed into the glen and its unique rural setting.”
“The nursery facilities are excellent. It ticks a lot of boxes, especially the outdoor learning.
“I know this as I fought hard to get this reopened for the children a few years ago.
“We won that fight and the nursery had a complete revamp including new toilet facilities to meet all the criteria. It’s practically brand new and ready to go.”
“We have three weeks or so to get our point across before it goes to the vote.
“The glen residents have a right to have Tarfside as an option for the children of the future.
“If this goes through and Tarfside closes, the glen will lose its beating heart of the community.
“It has already been missed since closing its doors last year but has life in it yet.
“Whilst this is the case I will strive alongside the other parents and glen residents to put up as good a fight as we did for Stracathro.
“Tarfside should be given the same five-year moratorium over closure as Stracathro,” she said.
