'Oil leak school' in Gartly recommended for closure

An Aberdeenshire school shut for more than three years amid work to deal with an oil leak has been recommended for closure.

Pupils from Gartly School were moved to another school after the incident in December 2018.

Some children were said to have been left feeling ill after the leak and resulting strong smell.

Aberdeenshire Council's education and children's services committee has now recommended its permanent closure.

The recommendation will go to a full meeting of the council.

• All options considered for oil leak school future

• Oil leak primary school 'may not reopen'

A suggestion that the head of education should investigate whether the school could be reinstated was rejected.

It would instead effectively be merged with nearby Rhynie Primary.

Councillors previously heard that reinstating the building could cost another £850,000, on top of what had already been spent.

The school - which opened in 1962 and was then extended in 1970 - closed on 17 December 2018 due to what was described as a "heating problem".

The leak of heating oil caused contamination.

The Gartly pupils were moved to Kennethmont School, but later moved to Rhynie School, about four miles away. The nursery at the school near Huntly also relocated to Rhynie.