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Skye decision gives new hope to Menzieshill High School campaigners

Campaigners are refusing to give in despite the council's vote to close the school.
Campaigners are refusing to give in despite the council's vote to close the school.

A landmark ruling has given campaigners fresh hope that they can yet save Menzieshill High School.

In a dramatic judgement, a new school closure review panel overturned a Highlands and Islands bid to close four schools on Skye.

The decision, the first of its kind in Scotland, has reinvigorated local campaigners hoping to save Dundee’s Menzieshill High School just days after they were dealt a major blow when the council voted to close it.

Reverend Bob Mallinson, who leads the local group fighting to save the institution, said the ruling provides a crucial precedent.

He told The Courier: “We are taking a great deal of hope from this decision. It shows that when things are taken out of party politics they can be properly considered.”

Last week, the council’s education committee voted by 18 votes to 14 to close the school and send pupils to the new Harris Academy.

That vote was met with tears from local residents who argued that the school should instead by turned into a community campus.

The decision to close the four primary schools on Skye was overturned after the school closure review panel judged that the Highlands and Islands local authority had not fulfilled its legal obligations. They have 14 days to appeal.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Courier or try our digital edition.