Thursday March 26th 2026
Fountainhall Primary School closed as it only had one pupil with depopulation being blamed as the main factor behind school closures
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Villages in the Scottish Borders are in danger of becoming nothing more than “huge retirement homes”, a concerned councillor has warned.
The issue was raised at a meeting of Scottish Borders Council today (Thursday, March 26) as members agreed to launch a public consultation over the permanent closure of a rural Borders village school with only one pupil.
Fountainhall Primary School is a non-denominational school, with capacity for 50 pupils, located in the very small village of Fountainhall in the north-west of the Borders on the Gala Water.
The school was mothballed in June 2025 after its roll fell to one pupil from 24 pupils in 2020/21.
Now SBC councillors have rubber-camped the consultation to be launched on Monday, August 24 and to last until October 12.
SNP councillor John PatonDay blamed depopulation as the main factor behind school closures.
He said: “It is sad to see closures but there is something we must not miss and that is why they are closing.
“Our rural schools are dying when it comes to families. We have to look to see if it is possible to bring back families into rural areas because if we don’t then they are going to become nothing more than a retirement home, a huge big retirement home.
“That’s not good for the future of our rural areas.”
It was a view echoed by the leader of Scottish Borders Council, Councillor Euan Jardine, who added: “This is the effect of depopulation – we have to close schools.”
Councillor Julie Pirone, SBC’s executive member for Education, Youth Development and Lifelong Learning, said the recommendation was the “right thing to do”.
She said: “With a heavy heart this is the right thing to do. I know personally how much the school was loved by local people and how it evokes memories of rural life in times gone by but at the end it was left with just one pupil who lived in a different village.
“Times are tough, birth rates are falling and money, as we all know, is tight and this is the correct course of action at this time.”
Tweet Share on Facebook
