Far North

Well we're now back to school after our enforced 'holiday'. We were last in school on Mon 27 Feb (it's now Wed 8 March). Despite steady rain since yesterday, some pupils have not been able to get in - a few roads are still impassable. Coming along the main road past my house many drifts were higher than me and more snow makes the road into the school just wide enough for cars. The school buses are unable to get along it, so pupils are being ferried by Land Rover & minibus.

A letter in the Shetland Times copmplained about the Education Dept closing all the schools on the islands. The writer said that all the roads in the south mainland were fine. Not so, I know of people who could not get along their road at all. The letter writer also stated that people he knew were able to get in to work - if they wanted to! This implies that teachers are a bunch of 'softies' that are looking for any day off. Not so! Teachers work far longer than their contracted hours. My pupils are now having to work hard to complete work that MUST be finished by the Easter hols - for their Standard Grades. 6 days off school was regrettable but necessary - for safety's sake.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing - OK so we were often told the day before that the schools would be closed. But this makes it easier for parents to seek alternative arrangements for their children.

All it would have taken would have been 1 child to be hurt when 1 bus slid into a ditch then the proverbial would have hit the fan. No, far better to be safe than sorry.

The letter writer also said that projected in-service days should be cancelled to make up. He does not realise that these days are part of teachers' contract for continuing professional development. They are not a skive for them.

He also states that Shetland is a land of extreme weather. Yes, it is in some respects but we don't get huge amounts of snow - the Scottish mainland gets far more. We're not prepared for such weather - certainly not so late on in the winter.

Ach well, there's always someone who wants to hit out at education.

Not able to get off Unst at weekend - so ended up giving BT a lot of custom using the phone.