Recommendation to mothball Dalry Secondary School to go before councillors

A recommendation to mothball Dalry Secondary School will be laid before education committee councillors next month.

The controversial plan was revealed at a heated public meeting at the Glenkens campus on Monday night.

Around 70 Glenkens residents attended the event following a community consultation on the school’s future.

The crisis situation has been sparked by a sharp decline in student numbers in recent years.

Head of education John Thin opened the council presentation and stressed the council’s aim was to give children “the best opportunities for learning and achieve the best results they can” as school rolls declined.

He said: “Within the national context of falling pupil numbers there’s a sharper focus for Dumfries and Galloway.

“We are losing more young people than other areas across Scotland necessitating us to adapt the school model.”

But Jeremy Sainsbury, the boss of local renewables firm Natural Power, warned of the consequences for the Glenkens of mothballing Dalry.

He said: “This is a self-perpetuating downward spiral that we are in and I’m not sure this area deserves that at this moment.

“The Scottish Government has a net zero target and this area has the best economic opportunity for over 100 years to employ people.

“Is there any joined up thinking in the council?”

The meeting was told Dalry’s roll has fallen from 55 in 2014 to 15 today – partly because lack of subject choice has led many parents to send their children elsewhere.

Dalry also has the highest spend per pupil in the region with almost 11 equivalent full time staff members for 15 pupils – in a school with a capacity of 248.

The most popular option from respondents to the consultation was to return Dalry to a nursery to S4 all through school.

However, a significant minority favoured “closure and re-alignment” – which would see S1-4 pupils transferred elsewhere and parts of the shared campus closed off to Dalry Primary School.

Jeremy Sainsbury gets his point across

According to quality improvement officer Rachael Williams, Dalry was rated “satisifactory” by inspectors in 2020 when it had 44 pupils but current low numbers and composite classes meant it was “incredibly difficult” to continue its self-improvement.

“This runs the risk of a further erosion in standards,” she said.

“Given the decline in attainment and achievement an HMI inspection may inevitably be worse.”

However, the prospect of mothballing the school drew a fierce response from the audience.

Mr Sainsbury said: “How can you be planning 50 or 60 houses to bring in young people and families then talking about this sort of process?

“You are cutting us off at the knees just when this area is prospering.

“All the staff will disperse to the seven winds and all the pupils will go to Castle Douglas.”

He added, to applause: “I think you are way too premature on this and you should be working out of your silo.

“The issue is there is a huge opportunity here and we are shutting the lid on it.”

Mr Thin said: “There is lower footfall at Dalry. Many young people have made a decision to go to Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbright or the Douglas Ewart High School.”

Castle Dough High and Dalry head teacher James Smith attended the meeting

No parents present favoured mothballing – and pointed to a nursery/primary roll of almost 90 at Dalry and Kells.

Such numbers, they believed, could in time mean a recovery at the secondary with proper support.

Parent Emily Wall, from Carsphairn, urged the council to take the wider social view.

She said: “You have to look at everything.

“Anything than closure is better.”

Councillor Dougie Campbell, who sits on the education committee, wanted social and economic factors to be included in the report for its March 14 meeting.

He said: “There is a degree of inevitability about mothballing.

“I completely understand the difficulty for education officers.

“But I won’t support mothballing the school because the economic future of the Glenkens is seriously under threat.

“Mothballing and, down the line, closure will be devastating, it really will.”

Councillor Andy McFarlane urged parents to contact all committee members.

“They won’t know how strongly you feel if you don’t contact them,” he said.