Teacher sought for remote Scottish island of 'nature and adventure'

It is a school on a tiny Scottish island full of 'nature and adventure'.
A new teacher is needed for Eigg Primary School in the Inner Hebrides. PIC: Isle of Eigg/Creative Commons/FlickrA new teacher is needed for Eigg Primary School in the Inner Hebrides. PIC: Isle of Eigg/Creative Commons/Flickr
A new teacher is needed for Eigg Primary School in the Inner Hebrides. PIC: Isle of Eigg/Creative Commons/Flickr

Now Eigg Primary School in the Inner Hebrides is looking for a new teacher to join this unique living and working experience.

The school has just eight pupils - three of them at nursery age.

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It describes itself as "more than a school" and prides itself on the way island life shapes how its pupils learn.

" School is more than just what we learn sitting at our desks," a school statement said.

The new teacher can expect to earn up to £40,206 a year, depending on experience, with a relocation package available to the right candidate.

Eigg now has around 105 residents with the island one of the first in Scotland to lead a community buyout. Since the purchase in 1997, the population has risen from 64 to more than 100. Eighteen of the residents are children, with the older ones attending Mallaig High School.

The island is hailed for its use of renewable energy and its community broadband network, which has helped to attract new residents from a range of different professions.

Eigg Primary School is described as an "eco school" with safeguarding the environment a key issue for pupils, who have earned the school its fourth Green Flag. A film about plastic has recently been made and more than 200 cloth bags have been sold to help cut plastic bag use.

Pupils have described what they like about their school on the Eigg Primary website.

One eight-year-old pupil said: "The thing I like about Eigg Primary School is that everyone is kind and nice. I also like that the school is on an island."

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A nine-year old added: "I like Eigg Primary School because everywhere you look you see colour and smiles. Eigg is a great place to live. It is quite remote and not too crowded."

The school attracted a new headteacher from the mainland in April.

A statement from Highland School said: "Eigg Primary School provides its pupils with a stimulating learning environment, which makes full use of the rich learning environment that our island provides.

"We actively promote partnership between the school, home and the wider community, including the other Small Isles schools and Inverie. The school has a supportive ethos that encourages achievement and celebrates success, encouraging children to become independent and confident."