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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Ryan Fahey

Remote island school needs new headteacher to oversee just three pupils for £59k a year

A remote island school seeks a new head teacher to teach just three pupils - for £59k a year.

The successful candidate will work on Fair Isle, which lies in a stretch of water between Orkney and Shetland and is owned by Scotland's National Park.

It's best known for knitting, and being home to 27 species of rare birds, including an enormous flock of 10,000 puffins.

The sparsely populated island is taking applications for a new head at its only school, Fair Isle Primary, which registers just three students at present.

Once students reach secondary education age, they are taught at a boarding school off island on the much bigger parent isle, Shetland.

The job advert calls Fair Isle a "beautiful and enchanting place, renowned for its world-famous knitwear and seabirds".

The job application says the new head will be joining a 60-strong community on the "enchanting" island (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The new head will join a "close-knit" 60-strong community.

Successful candidates will immediately feel welcomed, the advert adds, and can "create an idyllic island home" on the island.

For the "once in a lifetime opportunity", the teacher will earn a £56,787 salary.

This is increased by an extra yearly payment of £2,265 under a Scottish government scheme to attract qualified workers to jobs in remote locations.

Scotland's National Trust has owned the island since 1957.

Fair Isle is located around 25 miles south of Shetland and north of Orkney, and it takes two-and-a-half hours to reach the land mass by ferry or on a 25-minute flight from the Shetland mainland.

The school will pay travel expenses to reach the island on interview day, and a relocation package is also on offer.

The job advert says: "Do you dream of being part of a friendly, dynamic island community with a slower pace of life?

The remote island is home to an estimated 10,000 puffins and a total of 27 rare bird species (Getty Images/EyeEm)

"We have a once in a lifetime opportunity for an enthusiastic Head Teacher to work in Fair Isle, Britain’s most remote inhabited island.

"Fair Isle is one of the Shetland Islands and lies approximately 25 miles south of the mainland and 25 miles north of North Ronaldsay in Orkney.

"Owned by the National Trust for Scotland, it is a beautiful and enchanting place, renowned for its world-famous knitwear and seabirds.

"With a permanent population of just 60 people, Fair Isle is a close-knit and welcoming community where you can create an idyllic island home.

"Fair Isle Primary School is a non-denominational school, which serves pupils from early years through to primary 7.

"There is currently a total of 3 pupils on the roll. The school is managed by a teaching Head Teacher, supported by a learning support assistant and early years support worker.

"[...]As well as the relevant qualifications and experience, qualities we are looking for in the successful candidate are: a can-do attitude, vision, energy, initiative, good communication skills and self-discipline."

Susannah Parnaby, of the Fair Isle Primary School Parent Council, told the MailOnline : ‘There are lots of opportunities for creative teaching. Fair Isle is a great place to live."

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