Moves to shut James Hogg school for good resumed

Hogg began his education at the school in the Scottish Borders

A round of consultation is to be held over plans to permanently close the Borders school once attended by the Scots poet James Hogg.

Ettrick Primary dates back to 1725 but was mothballed in 2012 after no pupils enrolled for the new term.

Consultation was due to be carried out two years ago but that process was delayed and it is now being held over the next couple of months.

Hogg, known as the Ettrick Shepherd, began his education at the school.

The council said it never took the decision to close any school lightly

He was only able to attend the school for a few months because of his father's bankruptcy and was largely self-educated through his reading.

Scottish Borders Council's consultation over the complete closure plans will run until 28 April with a meeting to be held on 26 March in the village.

Who was James Hogg?

Born in the Borders in 1770, he spent most of his youth and early manhood as a shepherd and was almost entirely self-educated.

His talent was discovered early by Sir Walter Scott, to whom he supplied material for Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.

Before publishing The Queen's Wake (1813), a book of poems concerning Mary Stuart, Hogg went to Edinburgh in 1810, where he met Lord Byron, Robert Southey, and William Wordsworth.

He was a prolific poet but is probably best known for The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824), a macabre tale of a psychopath that anticipates the modern psychological thriller.

He died in the Borders in 1835.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Carol Hamilton, SBC's executive member for children and young people, said: "The decision to close a school permanently is never taken lightly and is only considered after a wide range of important and valid factors are taken into account, with our priority always to make sure that we are providing the best educational opportunities we can for pupils.

"When Ettrick Primary was mothballed in 2012, it was done because there were no pupils enrolled for the commencement of the school year.

"Since then any pupils living in the catchment area have been attending Kirkhope Primary which has worked well."

The site is one of three which the council is currently considering closing for good.

Hobkirk Primary and Eccles Lietholm - which have both also been mothballed - will be the subject of consultation running from 7 March to 2 May and 14 March to 10 May respectively.