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One-pupil school earmarked for closure
Pupils face a road trip to school |
A Banffshire school which has just one pupil at a cost of more than £100,000 per year has been recommended for closure.
Tomintoul Secondary School is one of three schools recommended for closure by Moray Council's education committee.
Pupils at the other two - Edinvillie and Boharm primaries - are to be transferred to Aberlour and Keith.
Council cost-saving
Carl Hobbs walks the short distance from his home each day and shares a classroom with a group of younger children from the village primary school.
But Moray Council says it costs £105,101 a year to keep him there.
The council believes it can save £62,253 by moving Carl to the Aberlour school, which is 25 miles away along a single-track road.
Parents in the village are opposing the move.
They say that the closure is being driven by financial rather than educational considerations and that they are being penalised for choosing to live in a remote area.
Parents opposed
Next year, 10 of Tomintoul's 45 primary pupils will be going to secondary school.
If the closure goes ahead, they will have to spend about 600 hours a year travelling by bus to and from Aberlour.
The average pupil cost in Moray is £2,877 and £3,462 at Speyside High.
Approval must now be given by the full council and then the First Minister Donald Dewar. The final decision is not expected until next June
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