Elgol Primary School in the Isle of Skye is literally "education
on the edge". Since 1876, when the school was built, the children
of this crofting/fishing community have been educated within a stone's
throw of the sea.
The setting is world-famous: the Cuillin mountains and the Hebridean
islands of Soay, Canna and Rum. On bright-blue spring days, far from
the madding crowds and materialism of the modern world, it seems idyllic.
But in winter the days are short and dark, waves crash over the pier
and fishing boats run for shelter from the gales. This is a place
of extremes, where children grow up aware of the dangers as well as
the beauty of their surroundings. Head teacher, Pat Anderson, often
notices a child's head lift at the sound of the family boat arriving
safely home.
In 1990, when she became head (and only) teacher, there were five
pupils. When I visited the school in June 2004 there were 19, aged
five to eleven, with a second teacher and a classroom assistant. After
the summer break, with 15 children, Pat would be the only teacher
again. Ever-increasing bureaucracy means juggling classroom commitments
with administration and frequent meetings elsewhere in the island.
The problem is exacerbated in a small school as the continuity of
teaching is disrupted, especially for the younger pupils. Pat is constantly
torn - when teaching, there's always a bit of paperwork nagging at
the back of her mind; when dealing with paperwork, she's wondering
if the final year maths class is progressing as it should. She has
nothing but praise for the support of her staff, but there's no doubt
where she would prefer to put her concentration: "I like children
more than filing cabinets."
I arrive on "gardening day" and am greeted by numerous small figures
in boiler suits - work clothes are the real thing here, whether you're
five or 75. Elgol is part of the Europe-wide Eco-schools project,
as proclaimed by the flag proudly displayed in the school yard. The
aim of the project is "to encourage and acknowledge whole-school action
for the environment". Pupils are fully involved, and represented on
their Eco-schools committee. The school's application to the scheme
says the children "see themselves as instrumental in taking a lead
in their community, and take pride in their achievements."
As Pat says: "When staff set a ball rolling, it's amazing how far
the pupils will kick it on down the line!"
They make a conscious effort to look after their environment, keeping
the foreshore clean as part of the Adopt-a-Beach campaign, improving
the school grounds, recycling waste. A discarded wellington boot -
found during a beach-clean - has become a flower container and contributes
to the development of the school garden, which received a Gardens
for Schools grant, a scheme promoted by Alan Titchmarsh.
Everyone is busy, sure of their place in the scheme of things and
eager to show me their school. I am impressed by the children's self-reliance,
their courtesy, their confidence in life itself. Gardening alternates
with maths, music practice and sketching. Grace at lunchtime is in
Gaelic. Playtime is skipping, football, a game of rounders with the
staff, the Cuillin a constant backdrop. With such an upbringing, a
child surely takes something very special out into the world.
Nor is that wider world ignored. Elgol, like all schools in the Highlands
and Islands, is connected to the internet and pupils handle computers,
email and websites as familiar tools. However, Pat is acutely aware
that society beyond the island is far from perfect. Child protection
issues, for example, require a visiting photographer to undergo the
same formalities in Elgol as in Birmingham. Nobody would quibble with
the caution, but it emphasises that a small island school is very
much part of today's world, warts and all, no matter how far away.
Remoteness and distance are part of everyday life here and much of
the school effort is directed towards minimising their disadvantages.
Ironically, however, 15 miles of twisting, single-track road to the
nearest petrol station, doctor, bank, supermarket and the next available
primary school actually help keep a school open in Elgol. Fewer miles,
and children might have to travel daily by bus, the local school doors
would shut forever, and the whole community would be weakened as a
result.
Elgol has a strong, lively community, a healthy mix of indigenous
families and those who have come to live in Skye, many with children
who have added to the school roll. The whole community is closely
involved with its school. The support is essential. One of the school's
key aims is "to prepare each pupil educationally and socially to cope
with a future outwith a small rural primary school". This means commitment,
hard work and sheer determination that pupils should have the widest
possible experience of what life has to offer, despite the disadvantages
of smallness and remoteness. Whatever the need, parents and neighbours
are on hand.
Local skills, willingly supplied, fill inadequacies in "official"
teaching support which provides (for example) only nine visits a year
by the music specialist and five by the art specialist. There is an
after-school art and craft club, and two pupils travel that 15-mile
road once a week for music tuition at another school - which involves
making up their school work "after hours".
Huge community effort produced a village hall in 1998. Prior to this,
desks and chairs were shifted to provide "gymnasium" facilities in
the classroom. Now regular PE and shinty sessions are a few minutes'
walk away (at the top of the cliff) and Elgol Primary is part of Skye's
inter-schools' shinty scene.
The parents raise funds every year for final year pupils to join
children from all over Skye in a week-long exploration of Edinburgh
and Glasgow. The trip allows pupils to see life in other parts of
the country and helps them forge friendships that ease the transition
to the island's large secondary school in Portree, 40 miles away.
Most - like generations of Elgol children before them - will become
weekly boarders because of the distance from home.
Shortly after my visit, the whole school and a number of parents
were in Portree at the Skye Mod (traditional music festival), supporting
those pupils taking part: singers, violinists, clarsach (Celtic harp)
players, chanter (bagpipe) players and a cellist. For the annual school
trip a few days later, transport was by boat, the destination Loch
Coruisk in the heart of the Cuillin, the entertainment seals, otters
and seabirds. If the best of all worlds is attainable, the pupils
of Elgol Primary School must come pretty close.
At the end-of-year concert Pat Anderson asks herself: "If the pupils
leaving this school today had no more education, would they cope in
life?" After a short time in their company, I answer without hesitation:
"Yes, definitely!"