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Post by bonna on Dec 8, 2007 10:37:18 GMT 1
Any thoughts on da Skerries skule debacle? Is aabody happy with keeping open a secondary for one pupil? Is Skerries really some kind of "special case" (that, say, Fair Isle with nine secondary-age bairns isn't)? Wouldn't all our peerie isles like a secondary school then?
Or is aabody happy that because of Skerriegate there will apparently be no more schools threatened with closure in the life of dis cooncil? But remember there will very likely have to be a lot of other services (which we may also use and value) put under serious scrutiny as a result of this failure to save a hapenny.
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Post by heimdal on Dec 8, 2007 19:53:47 GMT 1
I'll stick my head above the parapet and say Skerries should have been closed. My opinion is that the single pupil would have gained so much more from being in a group of pupils of his own age and would have had his horizons expanded enormously compared to being the sole secondary pupil being taught in a class of otherwise primary pupils.
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Post by benjiesmum on Dec 9, 2007 7:27:56 GMT 1
Yes, I would tend to agree with Heimdal on this issue. Although there are two sides to this sort of situation. Clearly, a secondary school student being educated on their own is not good as far as social development goes. Also the lack of facilities for that student - science labs, specialist language teachers - in fact all specialist teaching, citizenship lessons and later (if the same applies) option choices will be very limited.
This sort of situation has happened a great deal here in Wales - particularly the very remote rural areas - but only as far as primary schools are concerned. Parents get very angry when their local primary closes down because often it has been the hub of the village community. Having said that it costs a great deal of money to keep these schools open and they are often in a bad state of repair - being old Victorian buildings which take a lot of maintenance. Here, students tend to get bused to their nearest secondary provision.
But where would that particular student have to go if there were no provision locally? I'd be interested to know more. It must be a problem right across the northern isles and I wouldn't like to be the minister in charge of making decisions. I suppose the government is trying to encourage people to stay in these remoter areas??
Funny though....a school of one...I can hardly conceive of the idea as I work in a school in England, where there are over 1300 students. That would be a culture shock to that poor child!
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Post by bonna on Dec 9, 2007 12:07:47 GMT 1
I personally agree with heimdal and bjm on the educational aspect, but what really gets me is the unfairness of the situation vis-a-vis other small isles.
bjm, the pupil concerned would otherwise have to board in Lerwick, getting home at weekends, in common with secondary pupils from all the other small isles in Shetland - not exactly a dreadful fate. The larger islands all have viable secondary schools, where pupils generally do S1 to S4, only then moving to Lerwick for S5 and S6 if they wish to proceed to further education. The same arrangements apply to most of the Shetland mainland, the difference being that here the majority of pupils travel daily from home. In the north Mainland (our area), Brae has the only other 6-year secondary in Shetland, where our children can see out their full education - we're the exception, if you like.
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