Councillors vote overwhelmingly to press ahead with Scalloway secondary closure
SIC councillors today voted by an overwhelming margin of 15-5 to stick with plans to shut Scalloway’s secondary department at the end of the current school term.
The decision came after members spent an hour debating a notice of motion drawn up by Shetland Central councillors calling for the closure to be postponed until the new Anderson High School has been completed.
The SIC had voted 13-9 to shut the school back in December and the 11th hour attempt to revisit the decision was swept aside. On this occasion the council’s political leader Josie Simpson and services committee chairwoman Betty Fullerton both voted to press ahead with closure.
Earlier during the Full Council meeting at Lerwick Town Hall, members reaffirmed last week’s decisions to shut primary schools in Burravoe and Uyeasound and to retain the primaries in North Roe and Sandness amid ongoing recriminations about apparent inconsistencies in their decision-making.
North Isles councillors expressed deep frustration at some Mainland colleagues who had switched sides in the voting to ensure schools in their own wards remained open. Education spokesman Bill Manson was singled out, accused of being “two-faced” by North Isles member Robert Henderson during a heated debate.
Members voted 12-8 to stick with plans to shut Uyeasound and 11-9 to close Burravoe. Those decisions could still be called in by the next Scottish education minister. Councillors voted 12-8 and 13-7 to retain primaries in North Roe and Sandness respectively.
More to follow
Roger Wiseman
Whats next, close all the feeder Primary Schools for Scalloway and send all the bairns to scalloway school? Next you will have to close all the leisure centres in the affected areas due to lack of use, drawing more people into Lerwick. They say the AHS is up to the extra 120+ pupils from Scalloway, when i was at school 20 years ago the AHS wasnt up to the task!
They might as well start building a few hundred new houses in Lerwick for the incoming hordes!
These councillors are a joke.
Roger Wiseman
Australia
David Thomson
Never heard such rubbish I was at the AHS when the new blocks opened and there were 1200+ pupils, since then they have also had a new science block added, the building has enough space to add 120 pupils taking the role to just over 800. What challenge will they think of next to try and stop this sensible decsison?