Fair Isle Primary School is looking for a new Principal Teacher, offering a unique teaching opportunity to live and work in one of the UK’s most remote communities.
Fair Isle lies midway between Orkney and Shetland, and currently has a resident population of around sixty people. This vacancy offers a place for an enthusiastic, committed and motivated Principal Teacher to work at the well-resourced school, at the heart of the dynamic and welcoming Fair Isle community.
The primary school is non-denominational and serves pupils from early years through to primary seven, with a current school roll of two primary-aged pupils and one younger child due to start in nursery soon. The school is led by a shared head teacher from Sandwick Junior High School and the current school staff includes one supply teacher, one clerical assistant, one supervisory assistant and instructors.
The Principal Teacher post is permanent and full-time, working 35 hours a week. Candidates must have relevant qualifications and experience, be currently registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and be required to join, or be a member of, the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme before a formal offer of employment can be made. The successful candidate will have the qualities of vision, energy, initiative, good communication skills and self-discipline.
Fair Isle is renowned internationally for its fieldwork and monitoring of migratory bird species, and bookings for the rebuilt Fair Isle Bird Observatory are due to open in 2025. A project is also underway to replace the current Fair Isle ferry and improve the harbour infrastructure, which will increase the reliability and capacity of transport connections to the island. In recent years, an increasing number of cruise ships have called at the island during the summer months, which has boosted tourism opportunities.
Chloe Kerr, Quality Improvement Officer, said: “This is a unique and exciting opportunity to contribute to the life of Fair Isle School. Staff, families, and the wider community work together to embrace the real-life experiences the community offers and to help every child achieve their full potential.”
The post has recently been advertised on the public sector job portal myjobscotland with a closing date for applications of 6th January 2025.
For more information on Fair Isle Primary School look up the school's glowscotland blog page and for more information on Fair Isle look up - www.shetland.org/visit/plan/areas/fair-isle