Residents on one of the UK’s most remote islands are urgently seeking a new teacher for their tiny school.
Applicants for the job – on Foula, 20 miles west of Shetland and surrounded by the Atlantic – will need to cope with isolation, power cuts and storms.
A problem they will not face is classroom overcrowding. When the new term starts, there will only be one pupil.
Nicknamed “The Edge of the World,” after the success of a film made there in the 1930s, the island has a population of 32. The school currently has two pupils but one is leaving for high school on the Shetland mainland at the end of the current term.
A £49,000 salary is on offer and a three-bed house on the island is provided for rent.
Current teacher Jayne Smith is leaving after three years. An advert on Shetland Council’s website invites experienced applicants.
The other staff are a cleaner and a clerical assistant, and there is an attached nursery which another two children also attend.
Miss Smith, 38, said she hoped any publicity would bring interest.
And she explained: “We want people to apply because it’s not just about the job, the job’s a small part of it. It’s about being able to live on Foula, which is very isolated.
“The weather is the biggest challenge. We’re a 15-minute flight from the mainland and the plane is cancelled more often than it flies. I came thinking I’d do a couple of years.
“Some people do backpacking. I came to Foula and that’s been my adventure. But I miss the mainland. I want to go while I still love it here.”
Foula, named from an old Norse word for birds, is just nine square miles. It is made up of crofting townships on a narrow coastal strip and boasts having Shetland’s most spectacular cliffs.
There is a post office but no shop or pub. Locals make a living by selling the native Shetland ponies and sheep to the mainland, as well as from tourism.
An online posting by the school states: “This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is looking for an adventure. Please share this post to help us reach that special someone.”
Relocation costs will be paid. The closing date for applications is Thursday (June 8).
