Corrie Primary and Nursery school   

Text Box: Rural school closures, rural schools in Scotland,schools threatened,scotlanf school closing,parents oppose closure,corrie, corrie arran,corrie primary north Ayrshire,school north Ayrshire,help our school arran,buteshire,argyll,carol kirk corrie primary closure,corrie consultation document,corrie school education Text Box: WE’VE DONE IT!!

                                                    CORRIE SONGWRITERS

 

During the session 2005/06 Corrie Primary School benefited from collaboration between North Ayrshire Council and The New Makars Trust. The aim of the Trust is to support and develop song writing about Scottish community life. Each primary  school on the island was matched up with a song writer and set the task of writing and performing two songs which reflected something special to their own community. These songs were then put on CD.

  Pupils at Corrie worked with Gill Bowman a well-known singer and songwriter on the Scottish music scene. After much discussion with the children subjects and ideas were identified which were eventually crafted into song .

 The younger children decided that they wanted their song to be about seals. The symbol of the school is a seal and the pupils get much pleasure from regularly watching seals swimming in the waters beside the school. My Name is Sonny was the end result.

 The older children chose a more serious topic. As part of their curricular work they were studying   WWII. Just as they were discussing evacuees the school door bell rang and there stood Mr J. Campbell . Mr Campbell was an ex pupil of Corrie School now living in Tasmania who just happened to have been evacuated from Glasgow to Corrie during WWII. Coincidences like this often happen at Corrie as if by magic !

 Well Mr Campbell was hi-jacked by the pupils. He did not need to change his flight home but he did have to cancel his ferry booking . They were fascinated by all his reminiscences about being an evacuee as well as what school life was like in the 1940’s.One of his vivid memories  was of standing in the playground watching HMS Dasher on fire and sinking in the Firth of Clyde between Arran and Ardrossan. This was a Navy aircraft carrier whose destruction and tragic loss of life was hushed up at the time.

 This story made such an impact on the pupils that they used it as their subject. The end result was “The Ballad of HMS Dasher R.I.P”, which is a haunting song which makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck when you hear it. As well as concert performances this song has been played at the Dasher Memorial Ceremony and can also found on YouTube

 All the Arran songs can be found on the CD New Makars Song Series No 4  (www.newmakarstrust.org.uk) For more information about HMS Dasher go to www.hmsdasher.co.uk

   

 

 

 
Oval: CLICK Text Box: CORRIE SCHOOL SAVED !! In fairly confident mood, a small delegation of Corrie Primary parents set off on Tuesday’s 8:20 in order to make their final representations, in person, to the full Educational Executive, before answering questions, listening to the considerations of council members, and, finally, hearing them vote on the future of the school. Parent Council members Dan Goronwy and Nici Boni and Chairperson Donna Gold made final pleas for retention of Corrie School and Nursery. The argument, as always, centered on the community within Corrie and Sannox, the devastation that would result from the potential loss of such a valuable asset, and the value of the community at large which is instilled within the children in their roles as part players from the earliest possible age, as well as the value placed on the children themselves by other residents coming into contact with them. A short but powerful film containing the comments and wishes of the pupils was then shown to those present. Members of the Education Executive were then given the opportunity to air their opinions and decisions regarding the matter. Although a need to look at the mechanisms within in order to save money at some level was widely recognised by every one, the Executive found in favour of the recommendations made in Corporate Director, Carol Kirk’s report. They voted unanimously for the retention of Corrie Primary. The matter goes to full Council vote next week; though it is extremely unlikely the situation will change now. Various ward councillors and members of the Executive congratulated the parents on their well-fought campaign and conduct throughout. The sending of copious letters, over 4000 in total, to all council members concerned (as previously reported in The Voice) was deemed particularly effective. Within the next couple of months, a bill will be aired within the Scottish Parliament which will make it nigh on impossible to close rural schools in the future, without sound educational rationale. So, Corrie gets to keep its school for the future of the village, and for all the Corrie and Sannox children of the future who will, hopefully, be around to pass through its doors. That, of course, is up to the community!!! Nici Boni

ARRAN PARENTS' DELIGHT AT REPRIEVE FOR CORRIE PRIMARY SCHOOL

TINY Corrie Primary School on the Island of Arran is to remain open.

The decision by North Ayrshire Council today (April 29) to keep the closure-threatened school open was greeted with joy by parents and the wider Corrie and Sannox community.

The Council had earmarked Corrie Primary School and the adjacent Nursery for closure in June.

But after a high-profile campaign by parents the school, which has fifteen pupils, will now stay open.

One parent, Donna Gold, who travelled across from Arran to Irvine to hear the decision today, said: "We are all absolutely overjoyed at the decision. It's wonderful news for our children, the teaching staff, the school and the community it serves.

"I'd like to thank everyone for their wonderful support in our fight to keep Corrie open."

Our picture shows some of the Corrie children responding to the news their school will not close.

           29 April 2008

INFORMATION - Donna Gold, 01770 302 733
                         Nici Boni (another parent) 01770 810 289