Aberdeenshire education chief admits rural schools could merge if pupil numbers continue to fall

Aberdeenshire Council’s education chairman has admitted rural schools could end up merging if pupil numbers continue to fall.

Councillor David Keating issued the warning as the local authority looks to save cash and set its budget for the year ahead.

The local authority is forecasting a shortfall of £11.9m for the next 12 months, rising to £81m by 2029/30 if no changes are made to services.

Aberdeenshire Council is responsible for 17 academies, 145 primary schools, and four special schools across the region.

Almost half of the local authority’s revenue budget is spent on education, making it the largest single area of spend.

But it means any cost increases across education and children’s services such as pay awards and energy prices can have a major financial impact on the council’s coffers.

I sat down with education and children’s services committee chairman David Keating to talk about potential changes to the school estate.

As the local authority oversees a large number of primary schools, operating and maintaining them all brings significant financial pressures.

Council co-leader Anne Stirling revealed the region’s demographic is changing and school rolls are falling.

Mr Keating explained: “We have 145 schools, which is way in excess of any central belt or urban authority.

“Our fellow rural councils have a similar issue, but we’ve got to maintain all these buildings.

“And truthfully, sustainable doesn’t say we maintain all the buildings so if we get two really falling school rolls, we’re probably looking at mergers.”

There are five mothballed schools in Aberdeenshire at the moment.

But despite this, Mr Keating said the council is “categorically supportive of sustainable and accessible rural education”.

He added: “This is about the service – are we providing the service we have to, rather than, is that building that was there for a hundred years going to stay?

“What’s important to us is listening to the people.”

Councillors will meet next Thursday to discuss and set the Aberdeenshire budget for 2026/27.