Carsphairn Primary School could be set to disappear into history – two years short of it 300th birthday.
Education councillors will debate a recommendation next Thursday on opening a statutory closure consultation process.
The school, established in 1723, has had no pupils on the roll since August, 2019.
Now members must decide whether to hold a public consultation on shutting the doors for good.
However, the Scottish Government has the final say on any remote rural school closure.
The report to committee accepts that “special regard” must be paid to potentially closing Carsphairn.
It states: “The school roll is currently
zero due to a combination of a lack of primary school aged children and parental choice.
“It is clear from the projected school roll figures that, if the school were to be re-opened, it would remain a school with a total roll in single figures or still at zero.
“There are several educational issues that arise from such a low school roll figure.”
The school has been mothballed for almost two years since the last P7 pupils left.
Other options include reopening Carsphairn with its current or extended catchment area or contiued mothballing.
But unless young families move in to create new demand the future looks
bleak.
“There is no realistic prospect of a significant rise in the local population of school age children that would allow
the school to become viable,” the report adds.
“The community has raised some concerns over the future condition of the building deteriorating as a result of
the current situation and these concerns may remain if the mothballing is continued.”
