Base closures threaten schools, as RAF children - and teachers - leave

Schools near Scotland's threatened military bases face huge falls in pupils numbers, according to an education chief.

Richard Donald, head of educational support at Moray Council, said the demise of RAF Kinloss and the threat to RAF Lossiemouth, both in Moray, would cause huge drops in school rolls.

He also warned that many teachers, who are RAF spouses, would be lost to the area.

He spoke after the announcement on defence cuts by Prime Minister David Cameron this week.

Mr Donald said Kinloss Primary used to be the largest in Moray with 400 pupils - a roll that has already dropped to 150 as operations have been scaled down at the base in recent years.

He pointed out 60 per cent of the remaining roll were RAF children. If they left, he said: "That school really becomes very small."

Mr Cameron revealed earlier this week that the RAF base at Kinloss will close, after he announced plans to scrap the replacement fleet of Nimrod jets.

The bases support 5,710 full-time jobs with a gross income of 158 million, providing far higher than average wages for the area.

There is also mounting concern about the long-term future of RAF Lossiemouth, Britain's busiest base for fast jets, which faces a battle with RAF Marham in Norfolk to be chosen as the sole remaining home for Britain's Tornado strike force.

Moray's total population is 88,000, including 1,919 RAF children aged up to 16. Of them 1,237 go to local authority schools.

Larger schools mean more subject provision and greater variety of teaching levels, as education funding is allocated per child.

That means smaller schools can become unviable and children can be shifted to other schools in the area to maintain provision.

Mr Donald also pointed out a great number of teachers in the area are the spouses of RAF service personnel and are likely to move away from the area when the base closes.

He said the loss of so many staff would have a strong impact.

He said: "You can't change a large proportion of the teaching staff without changing the school."

Many rural areas struggle to recruit teachers, and some councils counter the problem by having one head run two schools.

Calum MacPherson, Highlands and Islands Enterprise area manager, said the scale and long-term presence of the RAF meant the service was "woven into surrounding communities". Closure of the bases would thus have a "more acute" affect than on other areas in the UK.

Meanwhile, the MP for Moray yesterday pledged to raise concerns about the future of RAF Lossiemouth in the House of Commons.

Angus Robertson, who is also SNP Westminster leader, said he saw a document which stated: "Tornado Bases - Fleet to be centralised along with the aircrafts depth maintenance at RAF Marham by 31/10/11 TBC."

It follows a meeting in Elgin with Scottish Secretary Michael Moore on Thursday, who said the UK government "will not abandon" Moray.

But Mr Robertson said yesterday: "UK ministers are saying one thing while the complete opposite is emerging from the Ministry of Defence.

"I hope that Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore are being straight with Moray and Scotland when they say that no decision has been taken.

"The military ordering democratically-elected decision-makers around is what happens in a banana republic and shouldn't happen here."