Pupil roll falls in Oban Lorn and the Isles
The number of pupils attending primary schools in Oban Lorn and the Isles has fallen by seven per cent over five academic years, a report has revealed.
However, those young people are continuing to achieve good results, with some positive assessment figures for literacy and numeracy reported at P1, P4 and P7 level.
Schools across the administrative area have seen various rises and falls in their pupil rolls, with one school seeing its numbers increase by 43 per cent while another has dropped by 88 per cent.
The details are revealed in a report which will go before Argyll and Bute Council’s Oban Lorn and the Isles area committee at its meeting on Wednesday March 11.
St Columba’s Primary School is reported to have 212 pupils on its roll in the current academic year, compared to 148 in 2021/22, a 43 per cent rise.
Some smaller schools have also seen sharp percentage increases, with Lochdonhead Primary School going from 10 pupils to 24, an increase of 140 per cent.
Tiree Primary School has gone from 23 pupils in 2021/22 to five in 2025/26 (78 per cent decrease), while Kilninver Primary School has gone from 26 to three in the same period (88 per cent).
Rockfield Primary School remains the school with the highest pupil numbers, with 220 attending in 2025/26.
Meanwhile, assessment figures in literacy and numeracy remained of a high standard across Oban Lorn and the Isles (OLI) primary schools in the 2024/25 session.
For P7 level, the report said: “In listening and talking, 85 per cent of P7 pupils in the OLI area achieved second level, this is compared with 88 per cent at authority level and 89 per cent nationally. In listening and talking, performance in OLI has increased by 15 percentage points in the last five years.
“In reading, 84 per cent of P7 pupils in the OLI area achieved second level, this is compared with 82 per cent at authority level and 82 per cent nationally. In reading, performance in OLI has increased by 14 percentage points in the last five years.
“In writing, 70 per cent of P7 pupils in the OLI area achieved second level, this is compared with 73 per cent at authority level and 77 per cent nationally. In writing, performance in OLI has increased by 16 percentage points in the last five years.
“In numeracy, 75 per cent of P7 pupils in the OLI area achieved second level, this is compared with 77 per cent at authority level and 79 per cent nationally. In numeracy, performance in OLI has increased by percentage points in the last five years.”
The report also reports positive figures for P1 and P4 pupils, at early and first levels respectively.
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