Call to help Lumsden Primary after former head teacher struck off

A primary school which saw pupil numbers drop after allegations of misconduct against its former headmistress needs to maintain a two-class structure in order to move on, parents have said.

Elizabeth Manley was struck off after facing 30 misconduct charges between 2013 and 2015 at Lumsden Primary.

The roll has dropped to 17 pupils, below the requirement for two classes.

The parent council hopes Aberdeenshire Council will make an exception.

Parent council chairman Mike Starkey has written to the local authority asking for an exception to be made, given the circumstances, in the hope of attracting new pupils.

He told BBC Scotland: "We have had a blip here which has devastated the school. We can return to better days.

"It's not the school you are reading about, it's a new school with enthusiastic staff."

In a statement, Aberdeenshire Council said it had staffing formulas which were applied equally.

The statement said the education service would "always be in a position to react to rising and falling roles should the demand on the school increase but there are no plans to do so now".

Mrs Manley was struck from the register by her own consent by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) last week.

Aberdeenshire Council said it took appropriate action when the allegations came to light and Mrs Manley was no longer employed by the council.