A sensible solution to the Mull school saga is finally within reach

After years of conflict and controversy, campaigners on the Isle of Mull are hoping that progress has finally been made towards a resolution to the Mull school saga, which The Herald has covered extensively for more than 18 months.

The council wants to build a badly-needed new school, but is planning to construct it in Tobermory, close to the current location. This seems reasonable at first glance, but the authority’s own engagement work found that the most popular option among actual islanders is for something different.

Campaigners have called for a new approach that would split the current school – which includes a nursery, primary and secondary – into two: the nursery and primary would stay in Tobermory, with the secondary to be located in a more central location such as Craignure.

Why? Because right now, in 2026, the existing arrangements mean some children in the south of the island must leave their families during the school week. Instead of staying at home during their secondary education, these children – some as young as 11 – are forced to stay in a state-run hostel in Oban and go to school there.

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This arrangement, described as a ‘historic injustice’, was not established by the current council (and actually pre-dates its existence) but many of those on Mull argue it has been devastating for their communities, effectively splitting the island into two and driving depopulation of the Ross of Mull.

A central school, they argue, would help to undo some of the damage that has been done over recent generations – but the council has said no and, as things stand, intends to maintain the status quo for several generations to come.

Officials have been adamant that they will only build a single-site school, defending this position on the basis that the Scottish Government’s funding model only allows for straight, like-for-like replacements of existing facilities. There is some dispute over this point, especially because at least two councils are using the fund to build completely new facilities, and Argyll and Bute Council has now admitted that it did not even consider a split-site approach on Mull before submitting its funding application.

As a result, the single-site approach, and the continued separation of families from the south of Mull, was locked in from the start, no matter what islanders wanted or the impression they were given by officials asking those on the Ross for their views.

It is, simply, a mess but at the end of the day none of this is set in stone, and if politicians really want to find a better way, they can surely do so.

Nobody is really interested in defending a policy of separating 11-year-olds from their families for more than 40% of the year, particularly if there is an option to end that practice.

The council says that a split-site would cost more, both to build and to run, but the numbers involved are barely even rounding errors in national finances.

So perhaps Argyll and Bute Council needs, and is entitled to, a little bit more funding in order to address this historic problem – especially when you remember that it isn’t one of their making, but rather a situation that they inherited.

Surely if everyone just sits down together and hammers this out, a fair and democratic solution can be found?

Possibly, but for a long time getting everyone to sit down has been the problem, and the council has appeared mostly at fault on that point: it rejected the offer of a roundtable from the local MSP and generally sent a signal to campaigners that the issue is not open for discussion, even when some councillors pleaded for a rethink.

Which is why the intervention of Màiri McAllan, the new(ish) Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture, and Gaelic, is particularly noteworthy.

Campaigners from Mull have revealed that Ms McAllan has issued invitations to a roundtable discussion which will include “Argyll and Bute Council leadership and local MSPs.” They have described this decision as a “significant breakthrough in the campaign to make education accessible to all on Mull”, and say that they are pleased that Ms McAllan “appears to want to find a route forward.”

"So are we now, finally, after years of controversy, inching towards what has always been the most sensible and grown-up approach?" (Image: Derek McArthur)

While they are still highly critical of the local council’s conduct, having already accused it of deceiving islanders, they also argue that the government’s funding model is the “underlying cause of the situation”, and that it has “never been ‘island proofed’ as required by the Islands Act”.

So are we now, finally, after years of controversy, inching towards what has always been the most sensible and grown-up approach?

Could the council admit that it didn’t handle this process well, and left some from the south of Mull feeling manipulated by officials? Could it accept that, for whatever reason, it appears to have ended up fighting against one of its communities rather than fighting for it?

Would the Scottish Government be willing to acknowledge that its flagship school building fund is largely effective on the mainland, but is not quite flexible enough for some islands and other so-called ‘remote’ areas? Would Ministers recognise, and pledge to address, the fact that on Mull the funding model risks entrenching inequalities rather than tackling them?

None of that feels like asking too much, and in exchange the council could go back to the start, fully engage the people of Mull, and set out to ensure that education on the island is truly fit for the 21st century. That process might even end with the same conclusions, but they would have been reached openly, democratically, and free of financial duress.

There is an easy win available here. Surely it’s time to grab it?