NEWS RELEASE For Immediate Use 19 November 2009b PROTECTING RURAL SCHOOLS IN PERTHSHIRE Rural communities in Perthshire can celebrate as new legislation passed in the Scottish Parliament today will bring new measures to help protect rural schools against closure; a proposal first put forward from Mid-Scotland and Fife Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser. The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Bill, which will create a legislative presumption against the closure of rural schools, was passed in the Scottish Parliament today. Murdo Fraser launched his own Member’s Bill proposal in January 2008 to fulfil a Scottish Conservative manifesto commitment to help safeguard rural schools. The SNP Government indicated it intended to bring forward its own legislation with the same objective. When the Scottish Government Bill was launched in March 2009, Murdo Fraser withdrew his Bill. Commenting, Murdo Fraser MSP said: “This is a real success for the Scottish Conservatives with this Act to protect rural schools in Perthshire and across Scotland. Scottish Conservatives have been pushing this issue for a number of years and I am delighted that the Scottish Parliament has supported our proposals. “Perthshire has a number of excellent local primary schools that serve their communities to the highest standards. It is good news for these communities and other rural communities across Scotland that there is now legislation in place that will help protect these schools.” In the Chamber during the Stage 3 debate, Murdo Fraser MSP said: “It was the proposed closure of Arbirlot Primary School in Arbroath that originally led Sandy Longmuir and his colleagues to take an interest in the process and form the Scottish Rural Schools Network. Fortunately, Arbirlot School was saved, but too many rural schools in Scotland have closed in recent years. “It is clear that there is evidence that children educated in small rural schools often have better educational and social outcomes than those educated in much larger schools. This advantage is more marked amongst people coming from less privileged backgrounds. Much of this evidence goes against received wisdom which suggests – wrongly - that children attending very small schools will lack social interaction skills which are required in later life. “But the debate around rural schools is not just one around educational attainment. A rural school is often at the heart of a rural community. In Scotland in recent years we have seen the closure in rural areas of shops, filling stations, post offices, pubs and sometimes churches. In many such communities the school is the only remaining public building and often the focus of community life, with the buildings being used out of school hours for a variety of community purposes. If the school closes, the heart of the community goes with it. Families with small children will be reluctant to move to the area and those already there may well be tempted to move out, and the community slowly dies. I have seen this happen too often, and that is why I have a strong belief in the maintenance of rural schools.” ENDS   back to top of page