Galloway’s northern-most school may not reopen after the summer holidays because it has run out of children.
Carsphairn Primary’s last remaining classmates, Naomi McCreath and Crawford King, will leave on June 28.
The two P7 pupils will join S1 at Dalry Secondary for the new 2019-20 session.
Once they leave, Carsphairn will have empty classrooms for the first time in its history.
Teacher Margaret Heuchan said: “There has been a school in the village for 296 years.
“The school has had an important place in the community for a long time. It opened in 1723. It is just a shame we could not have got to 300.”
The Scottish Government has a presumption against the closure of rural schools. That means the council has a statutory duty to consult the community on its future.
Mothballing the school would see windows boarded up and the electricity switched off.
Mrs Heuchan said: “If new families did arrive over the summer period then the school could remain open.
“We also have four or five wee kids in the catchment but they are not due to come up for a couple of years. By that time we would be mothballed.”
Meanwhile, anyone with a connection to the little school beside Carsphairn Parish Church is invited to a special event this weekend.
Mrs Heuchan, who is on secondment at Carsphairn after teaching there from 2008-2010, said: “We are having a celebration of the school’s long history on Saturday.
“We have looked out a lot of old photographs and log books dating back to the mid-1800s.
“Both our pupils were fascinated by what they found out looking through the excerpts.
“One thing they picked up was that attendance was rarely 100 per cent. Back then so many children had TB, diptheria, scarlet fever or measles. Pupils were also kept off school for potato drilling and picking, and hay-making.
“Boys got special dispensation to be absent from school for 12 weeks for the lambing.
“And because so many children had to walk up to five miles across the moors the little children did not go to school in winter.”
Mrs Heuchan added: “Our celebration will be held in the school from 2pm-4pm with a barbecue and drinks.
“It is open to members of the community as well as former staff and pupils.”
A council spokesperson said: “There are no pupils enrolled at Carsphairn Primary School for academic year 2019/20.
“The school will be mothballed and reviewed at the time of P1 enrolment for 2020/21, which is February 2020.
