How many schools are currently mothballed, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collect data on mothballed schools in Scotland. The Scottish Government does collect data from local authorities in order to collate a list of schools regarded as rural for the purposes of the Schools (Consultation)(Scotland) Act 2010. The most recent rural schools list was published on 25 October 2021
- Rural schools in Scotland
- gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The rural schools list includes those schools the relevant local authority has mothballed. The 2021 rural schools list shows that 21 schools were reported as being mothballed. The following table shows how many rural schools are mothballed by local authority area.
Local Authority
Number of schools reported as being mothballed
Aberdeenshire
4
Argyll & Bute
2
Dumfries & Galloway
1
Eilean Siar
2
Falkirk
2
Fife
1
Highland
4
Moray
1
Scottish Borders
1
Shetland Islands
2
Stirling
1
The Scottish Government has published statutory guidance on the Schools (Consultation)(Scotland) Act 2010
- Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010: guidance
- gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- which includes reference to mothballed schools and sets out the circumstances in which schools may be mothballed and when local authorities should consider whether to consult on their permanent closure.
Assessing the impact of mothballing a school on affected pupils is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. If a local authority proposes to permanently close a school they must undertake a full consultation in line with the requirements of the Schools (Consultation)(Scotland) Act 2010 and statutory guidance, including consulting with affected pupils.