HUTTON SCHOOL REVISITED

The missive below appears in this week's Berwickshire-at least on the e-version-the hard copy is a blizzard away in storm tossed Ber Wick. Hopefully the wife will be able to negotiate the snow drifts and bring one out to us.

Your last edition gave considerable prominence to Conservative MSP Mr John Lamont's proposal to protect small rural schools which has unfortunately come a little late for schools right across the Borders, including those at Burnmouth and Hutton. .
He is quoted as saying, 'Too often in the past we have seen the heart ripped out of rural communities when the local school closes...'
He is so right, but what a pity he wasn’t around four years ago to advise SBC's Tory councillors against giving their almost 100% support to a school closure programme that did just that.
NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED.

I wonder if this is from a certain local political campaigner who prefers to remain anonymous? The name of one prime suspect is on the tip of my tongue where it will remain for security reasons. The jibe at the Tories may not be altogether fair as I would be surprised if Big Jim Conundrum Fullarton, our local conservative councillor at the time of the battle to save Hutton school, actually voted for the closure. Thickish he may be, insensitive possibly, but given the strength of local feeling even he would not have had the gall to do so. Would he?

I am told that there are now over 40 children under 16 in Paxton alone. A pity they had not been around two years ago to swell the roll of primary school children. But I wonder if it would have made any difference. The policy of the highheidyins is Newtown StBoswell's is firmly : Big is beautiful. Arguments about schools being more than just educational establishments and centres of rural communities cut little ice around here. Its education, education education. And sadly the campaign to keep the school running focused more on aggressive charecter assassination and party politicl considerations than on sensible reasoned argument. Sad but even if it had been conducted more intelligently the outcome would probably have been the same.

(I could't find an image of our Hutton School either in my pictures or in Flickr-the above is of a Hutton Church of England school-presumably in one the other half dozen or so Huttons south of the Border. )

Labels: Hutton School, Scottish politics

  ¶ 10:38 AM