Wednesday February 4th 2026
Eyemouth Primary School
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
The future of Eyemouth Primary School is to come into sharp focus this month.
Late last year the plug was pulled on a Scottish Borders Council consultation launched over proposals for the relocation of the school into the town’s High School amid overwhelming public opposition.
It was agreed instead to launch an engagement plan with all elements of the community and for the formation of focus groups to agree a way forward.
Over the past six weeks, council officers have developed an engagement strategy, which is essential for securing community support for the project, facilitating the identification and resolution of concerns, and minimising both misinformation and miscommunication within the local community.
The plan focuses on five focus groups, who have all been invited to take part in planned focus group meetings.
These focus group meetings will take place over three rounds, with the first meetings scheduled during the first two weeks of February at Eyemouth Primary School.
Councillor Julie Pirone, SBC’s executive member for Education, Youth Development and Lifelong Learning, said: “I’d like to thank all those who have agreed to be part of the focus groups so we can move forward with a solution for a new school in Eyemouth.
“It is really important that we have the opportunity to have open discussions with local community groups, so that the project team can progress with proposals as soon as possible.”
Following the first round of engagement sessions, feedback will be collected and reviewed, with an update presented to local ward members for discussion as well as focus group participants in advance of their next meeting.
A further report will be presented to council following all three rounds of the focus group meetings.
The way forward is supported by East Berwickshire Independent Councillor James Anderson, who backed the original campaign for a U-turn, who said: “It must be a robust consultation and have absolute transparency. I believe we have a new consultation that can work really well and have fantastic results, as long as we work together.
“This is how it should have been in the beginning and I’m glad to see what’s right being done.”
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