A primary school with eight pupils on a remote Scottish island has found a new teacher after a social media appeal attracted interest from across the globe.
Laura Marriner is moving more than 700 miles to take the job on Muck in the Inner Hebrides, which was one of the last places in the UK to get a 24-hour electricity supply.
Marriner, who currently works for Hampshire county council, is expected to begin before Christmas and will boost the two-mile-long island’s permanent population of about 40 by bringing her husband, Dean, and children Charlie, five, and Atticus, 20 months, with her.
The teacher said she was aware that life on an island that had no shop and was regularly cut off from the mainland during the winter would be tough.
“There will be a low point and it will be when both boys are being difficult, when the weather is horrible and the boats are cancelled and we’re stuck on the island.
“We’ll just have to work through that and it will be fine. It’s about accepting that life can be difficult wherever you are. It’ll just be challenging in a different way.”
Marriner said the family would be bringing a chest freezer and a bread maker, as well as several boxes of tea. “As long as I’ve got tea, everything will be OK,” she said.
The search for a teacher began in May when the previous incumbent, Julie Baker, had to leave for family reasons. The post was advertised by Highland council, but all six candidates eventually dropped out when faced with the reality of remote island life.
In desperation, the island community put out an appeal on Facebook. It read: “Still Wanted! A fantastic teacher who can work across the primary age group, who has lots of enthusiasm, patience, understanding, drive, a love of the outdoors with good waterproofs, the ability to wear several different hats (teacher/partner/active community member), able to survive on a very small Scottish island which has no shop and can be cut off at times but has a lovely community with fun social events and a wonderful mix of about 40 people, it can be bleak occasionally in the winter, but also amazingly beautiful in the summer.”
They were inundated with expressions of interest from around the world, and almost 60 candidates applied. Nine were shortlisted and invited to travel to the island to get a better sense of what life there was like.
Muck is the smallest of the Small Isles. The others are Eigg, Rum and Canna. Marriner’s predecessor said Muck was “a wonderful place to teach and live”.
Baker said: “It is a very special teaching job. There is a three-bedroom flat for the teacher and their family above the school, which makes it the shortest commute ever! The flat has stunning views across the sea to Ardnamurchan Point.”
She added: “The parents and community are very supportive and the school is surprisingly well-resourced. The seven children in the class [and one in nursery] are enthusiastic learners.
“There are many outdoor learning opportunities with the outdoor classroom, forest school, polytunnel, wild garden with school ducks and the island environment itself.”
Reflecting on her appointment, Marriner said: “I’ve never done anything this brave before.”
