THE Borders faces the prospect of being “devoid of young people” a councillor has warned as go-ahead was granted over mothballing plans for two primary schools.

At a full council meeting today, Thursday, August 29, members agreed to the mothballing of St Joseph’s in Selkirk, where pupil numbers have fallen sharply in recent years, and for the continued mothballing of Eddleston Primary for another year.

The nearest alternative Roman Catholic school  to St Joseph’s is about six miles (10km) away in Galashiels, members were informed.

Mothballing the school is determined to be most “reasonable option”, with reopening to be reviewed annually if potential pupil numbers increase.

However, the mothballing plans raised concerns for Councillor John PatonDay.

He said: “We are losing pupils and that has a wider worry. The pupil numbers are going down, that means less children are being born.

“Our Borders is going to be devoid of young people the way it is going and I know that’s a bit off-key a little bit, but I don’t think it is. I think children are important, the future is important.

“I do think we have to be careful about closing long-term the small schools because things can change, and I hope that they do.”

Scottish Borders Council also agreed to continue the mothballing of Eddleston Primary School until another review in May 2025..

The school closed two years ago when pupil numbers fell to just four.

But there is a “reasonable prospect” that the number of children in the school’s catchment area will grow, with housebuilding projects proposed in the area.

With reference to Eddleston Primary, councillor Marshall Douglas said: “I certainly welcome the proposal to keep the school mothballed for another year. That is a growing community and there is possibly a potential for other children to come forward.

“We should be mindful however that the current problem with the school is that children have voted with their feet in the sense that the parents have asked them to be placed elsewhere. It’s a community that has decided to send their children elsewhere.”

Supporting St Joseph’s mothballing, councillor Elaine Thornton-Nicol, said: “Yes, it is sad when you hear of a school being mothballed but here is the reality, the population of Selkirk hasn’t grown for a long time, because there hasn’t been house building and the number of people that are having children has gone down.

“The reality is that the way we educate our kids is unbelievably good but it is very reliant on there being enough peers together to create that support network.”