Parents of pupils at Sandwickhill School on Tuesday night demonstrated by a unanimous show of hands that they would not send their children to Stornoway Primary.

Over 90 people from the area who attended the meeting were united in rejecting any proposal to close Sandwickhill which has a roll of 113 'and rising'.

It was stated time after time at the meeting that the whole reason for wanting Sandwickhill closed was to transfer pupils to Stornoway Primary where there was said to be room for around 240 pupils, figures which were queried at the meeting.

A Community Action Group of 14 members was set up to coordinate the fight against the possible closure of the school and local organisations, such as the local Community Council, the Common Grazings Committee and the Youth Club indicated they would help financially to get the campaign underway.

Mr Roddy Cunningham, chairman of the Sandwickhill School Board, chaired the meeting and read a letter from former Sandwickhill teacher Duncan Macleod who supported the parents in their campaign. It was a 'ludicrous' proposal to consider closing the school which was a viable educational unit, said Mr Macleod.

Mr Cunningham said that the Council's Director of Education and Leisure Services Neil Galbraith had attended a meeting at the school in January.

Although 'school rationalisation' was what had been referred to, it was obvious that closure was in mind, he said.

"What I find frightening is the speed with which this could be done," said Mr Cunningham. "There is enough room to shift our pupils from here to Stornoway Primary and this would mean savings for the Council," he added.

Councillor Donald Nicholson of Sandwick stated, "Last November the Education Committee recommended to the Council that it proceed with a programme of schools rationalisation and set out criteria for doing that."

He pointed out that at the full Council meeting in December both he and Councillor Frank Burns of Newton tried to have Sandwickhill taken off the list of possible closures. Of the 43 primary schools, 20 would be directly affected if the programme went ahead. Sandwickhill had a roll of 113 and the next highest was Carinish in Uist with 65.

There was no educational reason for closing Sandwickhill School, nor for them having to go through 'this painful exercise', he felt.

"I believe myself we will succeed in keeping the school open...we are all committed to that. We have got to be ready and draw up a battle plan. We are serious about this. It is our kids that matter."

Councillor Frank Burns said that many of the schools in the Western Isles were so old and small that they could not all be kept open.

Because these old schools were on the list, so was Sandwickhill.

He pointed out that the population of the Western Isles was dropping rapidly, with people leaving the island and not coming back. There was therefore space in the schools.

Councillor Burns said that there was a shortfall in the roll of Stornoway Primary. And with a roll of around 120 in Sandwickhill, the feeling was that the pupils could all be shifted to Stornoway Primary.

Councillor Burns pointed out, "The Council is looking at all schools and this is one of them. There is no decision to close Sandwickhill School. I know a few of my colleagues who will be supporting me to keep the school open."

Mr Cunningham again addressed the meeting stating that the moment a school closed, the sense of community spirit was lost. He pointed out the wide useage of the school by the various organisations in the area.

Asked Angus Martin of Parkend, "Why do the Council see fit through their own incompetence financially to shut a place like this down? They have run out of money and are using schools as the first thing to shoot down."

Councillor Burns said that this was not the case. "They are not closing any of these schools for financial reasons," he added.

Councillor Nicholson pointed out, "If any school is going to close, the savings go to the school that is receiving the pupils. In one sense, there is no saving, certainly not in the first, second or third year."

Another parent said that around £300,000 to £400,000 had been spent on Laxdale School and the conversion was still not complete.

Councillor Nicholson said that Laxdale had reached a high slot on the priority list and work was carried out there.

Another parent said that when they looked at the rationalisation programme about 10 years ago, Laxdale School 'was much more decrepit' than Sandwickhill. Now thousands of pounds had been spent on it.

"Sandwickhill has to be improved at some time as well," said Councillor Nicholson. "Sandwickhill deserves to have a primary school in its own right - it serves seven villages," he said.

A parent asked, "If we already meet all the criteria to keep the school open, what else can we base our battle plan on?"

Said Councillor Burns, "We have to see the report that will be going to councillors. We have to be prepared for that. We know that Sandwickhill meets the criteria."

And Councillor Nicholson added, "We have to convince the other 28 councillors who will be making the decision. By that time we will have a pretty good case."

A show of hands on whether parents would send their children to Stornoway Primary demonstrated they would not.

"It means that 120 pupils from Sandwickhill School will not be going to Stornoway Primary and that defeats the whole purpose of the exercise," said a parent.

Although it was stated that Stornoway Primary could take all the pupils at this stage, it could be argued there might not be enough room in five years' time.

Councillor Nicholson said that a new housing scheme was proposed at Parkend which would mean more pupils for Sandwickhill School. There were also to be many more houses built in the town, meaning that more pupils would be eligible for Stornoway Primary.

Asked a parent, "Why should we have to fight to keep Sandwickhill open? It is keeping itself open." It was pointed out that there would be another 21 pupils entering Sandwickhill School after the summer.

Mr Angus McCormack, Executive EIS Council member for the Western Isles, said:-"I see no benefit whatsoever to the teaching staff, pupils or parents by closing Sandwickhill School. It would be detrimental to the children." There was no educational reason for closure.

Said Mr Cunningham, "Let us make sure we are united in this and in our stance not to send our children to Stornoway Primary."

The Community Action Group will meet on Tuesday to draw up their battle plan.

Original article Stornoway Gazette Feb 06 1997.