Locals face council in court over new school campus in Tobermory on Isle of Mull

Campaigners on Mull have taken their local council to court over the location of a new school, which could force their children to stay in a hostel during the week.

Argyll and Bute Council decided earlier in the year to build a new £43m campus near the current high school in Tobermory.

A campaign group claims that the decision means most children aged 11 and over in the south of the island will have to commute more than 90 minutes to school.

They will have to travel to Oban on the mainland and board in a council-run hostel, returning home only at the weekends.

Many local parents say that the proposed four-hour round-trip bus journey makes the high school “inaccessible” to children in the south-west of the island.

Many parents in Mull wanted a more central location so that pupils in the south of the island would no longer have to travel by ferry to Oban. STV News

Campaigners have taken their case to the Court of Session in Edinburgh with a petition for judicial review, which will be heard on Monday.

A decision on the judicial review, which is a type of legal case where a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public authority, is expected further down the line.

The campaign group said: “The replacement of Tobermory’s high school provides an opportunity to end this enforced separation of children from their families.

“There would be no need for such a divisive and archaic practice if Mull’s high school was centrally located and accessible to all.

“Mull is a large island with a dispersed population. Because the island’s only high school is located in Tobermory at the extreme north of the island, the four-hour round-trip bus journey makes the high school inaccessible to children in the south-west of the island.

“Children from the south-west have no option but to board in a council-run hostel on the mainland to attend Oban High School, returning home only at the weekends.”

Argyll and Bute Council previously stated that the campus offers exciting opportunities.

A spokesperson said: “We have been made aware of the lodging in the Court of Session this morning and will be reviewing the contents of the petition once they have been made available to the Council.

“No further comment can be made at this time.”