School of 13 pupils offers £45,717 to net headteacher

A HIGHLAND school with just 13 pupils is advertising for a new headteacher.

The position at Applecross Primary in Wester Ross comes with a 43,593 salary and a 2,124 remote allowance.

Highland Council has now re-advertised the position at the school, which serves the Applecross peninsula, home to just 238 people.

Last year the community – which has featured in the television series Monty Halls' Great Escape – took matters into its own hands to help attract a doctor for the area.

Mark Darbyshire, from Chepstow in Wales, was appointed after local people set up a website to highlight the attractions of the area, amid fears that the isolated location might discourage candidates.

The site received 3,000 hits in one day and attracted interest from around the world, including the United States, Lithuania, Poland and South Africa.

Highland Council has faced difficulties in the past recruiting teachers for remote and rural areas.

Last year 20 pupils at Melvich Primary, on the north coast 20 miles west of Thurso in Caithness, posted a two-minute video on YouTube in an effort to fill a long-standing vacancy for a headteacher.