Education

Education (Scotland) Act 1872

In Stoer there is the substantial stone building of Stoer School, sadly now closed for education. The building dates from the late 19th century when many similar school buildings sprang up across the Highlands to respond to the introduction of state education in 1872. Historically formal education had not been generally available in the Highlands despite the Reformation’s promise of a schoolmaster in every parish.

Up to the start of the 19th century most of the population of Assynt would have had little English and most were illiterate. The problem of illiteracy persisted late into the 19th century. In the late 1720s the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) along with the Church of Scotland, funded a school for Assynt. The landlord built a schoolhouse at Kirkton in 1787 - this was the parish school. By 1801 there was an SSPCK funded school in Stoer and three private teachers in Assynt.

The first quarter of the 19th century saw a proliferation of charitable schools often set up specifically to enable the population to read the Bible in their mother tongue. After the Disruption in 1843, the Free Church also opened a number of schools. This provision was supported by the Sutherland Estate for the general betterment of the young people until the advent of state funded education. Sadly, with the ongoing decrease in the school roll and the closure of schools, population retention continues to be an issue.

There’s a similar story to tell in Coigach. A century ago Achduart, now a community of only a few residences, had a school. Achduart was one of three side schools, others being at Inverpolly and Tanera, with two main schools in Achiltibuie and Althandu. There is now only one school in Achitibuie.