Fisherford School

We Asked

The Council proposed to discontinue education at Fisherford School, which had been mothballed since August 2021. The catchment area of the school was suggested to be re-assigned to either Auchterless School, Rayne North School or a combination of both schools. To gather opinions on this proposal, a statutory consultation was conducted from 5th February to 29th March 2024, including a public meeting on 6th March 2024 at Turriff Primary School and an online survey. The consultation process also included discussions with pupils and staff from the affected schools.

You Said

Survey Results: Of the 41 survey participants, 61% supported the closure of Fisherford School and 73% favoured Option 2: realigning the Fisherford catchment area with Rayne North School.

Public Engagement: Despite advertising the public meeting, no members of the public attended. However, stakeholders shared their feedback through the survey and discussions with Education Scotland.

Pupil Feedback: Pupils from both Auchterless and Rayne North Schools generally welcomed the proposal, citing both benefits and drawbacks of increased enrolment.

Staff Feedback: Most staff members supported closing Fisherford School and merging with Rayne North School.

We Will

The consultation findings, including feedback from surveys, discussions, and the Education Scotland report, were reviewed by Council officers.

The consultation report was presented at Formartine Area Committee on 11th June 2024, Education and Children’s Services Committee then considered the report on 29th August 2024 and the final decision on the proposal was made by Full Council on 26th September 2024. On 20th November 2024, Scottish Ministers upheld the Council’s decision to close Fisherford School and realign its catchment area to Rayne North School.

As of 25th November 2024, Fisherford School is permanently closed, with its catchment area officially realigned to Rayne North School to ensure the sustainability of rural education.