Closing Crombie Primary School could sound the death knell of the village, it has been claimed.
The comments came as scores of youngsters joined worried adults to march in protest at the possible closure of another Fife primary Tanshall in Glenrothes on the eve of the Fife Council education scrutiny committee, which will further debate the shake-up of Fife’s schools estate.
West Fife councillor Kate Stewart likened the long-term impact on the tiny community to that still felt 30 years on from the demise of the mining industry.
Citing a damning report from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, which showed Fife continued to contain Scotland’s largest concentration of coalfield deprivation, the SNP councillor said: “This is about its impact on a rural community.
“It is not just parents, staff and pupils it is the whole community. Crombie has lost its shop, its church, its club. This could be the death knell of the community in Crombie.
“This wider impact is of great concern. To me the school is the only thing left. It is the heart of the community.”
While Crombie Residents’ Association and Crombie Social Group organise a petition, Councillor Pat Callaghan said the village would be left “devastated” if the school closed.
Councillor Alice Callaghan added she was unconvinced she had heard a good enough reason to close Crombie, which has a school roll of 18 pupils and a 38% occupancy rate.
Councillors were also concerned that, were Crombie to close, children would be transferred to Cairneyhill, 1 miles away, while there was a closer affinity to Limekilns Primary.
Crombie and Limekilns already shared a headteacher and were both feeder primaries for Woodmill High, while Cairneyhill pupils moved on to Queen Anne High.
“The continuity just doesn’t happen and it could end up being a wee bit divisive.
“There is potential that Cairneyhill could be under pressure and is there going to be financial investment to cope with that and, if so, why can’t it go into investment in Crombie?” asked Ms Stewart.
Councillor Douglas Chapman said he did not see the logic in the proposal and, if there was a chance to send pupils to a school already in the same catchment zone for secondary schools, “why would we change that?”
Fife Council’s head of education (west), Donna Manson, said meetings were being held to hear the public’s views on the plans and to take on board questions raised which will be answered during the consultation.
“It is our job to make sure people are heard,” she said.
Meanwhile, yesterday, the community around Tanshall Primary, with a school roll of 176, made a peaceful protest against its closure.
Euan Howells, the chairman of Community Help at Tanshall, was delighted with the turnout, despite the threatening skies overhead.
“We certainly hope the singing and chanting of the children will be heard by all those at Fife House attending the scrutiny committee,” he said.
He added that saving the school “means an awful lot” to many people.
“Apart from the disruption to children’s education, moving to a new school will have a huge impact on kids.
“For ‘standard’ children, it will take a while to adapt, but what about autisic children? A move could set them back for life.”