Dalry Secondary closure

Closing school will worsen depopulation, warn parent

RESIDENTS have warned that the closure of Dalry Secondary School – if it is pushed through – will worsen the area’s depopulation problem.
Parents and members of the Dalry community are strongly opposed to Dumfries and Galloway Council’s plans to shut down their high school, and made their feelings known with a demo outside the school.
This comes after the council’s education committee agreed to trigger the statutory public consultation process on closing the secondary school for good.
Anne McEwan, chairman of Dalry School Parent Council, said: “We are concerned about what this means for the Glenkens communities as well as the wider implications for rural communities in Dumfries and Galloway, many of whom feel unseen and ignored.
“The future of rural education in Scotland needs to be considered in a different way than non rural education and the current situation in Dalry gave Dumfries and Galloway Council an opportunity to lead the way on what rural education can look like and be a real trailblazer.
“Instead we are left with closure as the only proposed way forward and none of the steps taken by the council previously which led to an early decline in pupil numbers are being considered or addressed.”
Andrew McConnell is chief executive of Glenkens Community and Arts Trust.
He also sits on the Glenkens Community Action Plan Steering Group (CAPSG), whose education and learning subgroup are working on ways to ensure the communities of the Glenkens continue to retain, and improve, the education on offer for young people and across the board.
He said: “We are deeply concerned that this decision is being taken without full consideration of the wider, long term impact on rural depopulation.
“Education provision is a keystone in the drive to repopulate rural areas, not just a minor issue amongst many – as the council’s own reports on depopulation recently evidenced.
“For young parents, the choice of where to live and work is driven by their child’s education. The decision to close the school will compound the lack of confidence of young families to move into the area, and the lengthy period of indecision has already caused some families to move away in order to secure their children’s education. The rural economy will suffer more as a result of this decision.
“Short term decisions by the education department will have long term impacts for our community and we seek reassurance that the council commits to undertaking meaningful engagement with our community to ensure that every effort is made to ensure primary school provision is maintained, stabilised and strengthened for the long term.”
Council education officers have concluded that closure and catchment realignment to Castle Douglas High School represents “the most appropriate response”.
With just eight pupils expected to be enrolled for the 2026/27 academic year across S1 and S2 only – and no pupils in S3 or S4 – the report confirms that Dalry would be “the smallest secondary school in Scotland”.
Dalry Nursery and Dalry Primary School would continue to operate as normal if the closure proceeds.