Crossroads Primary School
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Crossroads Primary School is currently mothballed
Enquiries should be directed to Education, Moray Council, Council Offices, Elgin, IV30 1BX. Telephone 01343 563374
The school, which is part of the Keith Associated School Group, has been mothballed since January 2023 after the roll fell to five pupils. At the time there were 22 children in the school catchment.
Mothballing refers to a temporary decision to close a school where the roll has fallen to a very low level. The council’s mothballing policy is triggered when pupil numbers falls to less than 15. Rather than closing a school, mothballing gives the opportunity for it to reopen should circumstances change.
On June 7 2023, Moray Council's Education, Children’s and Leisure Services Committee agreed to proceed to the next stage of determining the future of Crossroads Primary School.
For information regarding the consultation on the closure of Crossroads Primary School, please visit the consultation webpage.
Crossroads is a rural primary school situated in the Parish of Grange. There are two buildings on site. The main building has a small library, general purpose, and two classrooms. There is also an office and a staff room. The original school, of traditional stone-built design, houses a large hall and a kitchen/dining area for school meals. The play area for the children is laid out in tarmac between two raised flower beds and a small, but beautiful garden area. The community playing field opposite is available for games, sports and school events during the school week.
Further information:
View catchment area
Inspection reports - Education Scotland
Update - May 2025
Notice of the decision by Moray Council to implement the proposal to close Crossroads Primary School and opportunity to make representation to Scottish Ministers
This notice is to advise that Scottish Ministers have been informed by Moray Council of its decision, made on Wednesday 21 May 2025, to implement the proposal to close Crossroads Primary School, and been provided with copies of the Proposal Document and the Consultation Report.
Under the terms of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, a period of three weeks begins from the date of the Council’s decision during which time any person can make representation to Scottish Ministers either against or to support the closure.
This three-week period extends to and includes Tuesday 10 June 2025.
Making representations to Scottish Ministers
Representations to Scottish Ministers can be submitted by:
Email:
schoolclosure@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
By post:
The Scottish Government
School Infrastructure Unit
2A (South)
Victoria Quay
EDINBURGH
EH6 6QQ
Scottish Ministers’ call in
At the end of the three-week period, the Scottish Ministers then have a further five weeks to decide if there are grounds to call in the closure decision for further investigation.
The grounds on which Scottish Ministers could call in a closure decision are set out in section 17 of the 2010 Act. These are very limited. Call in is permissible only where Ministers consider that the Council may have failed to:
- comply with the requirements imposed on it under the 2010 Act in a significant regard or;
- take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision to implement the proposal.
Moray Council cannot implement the closure decision (either in full or in part) until Ministers have reached a final decision on the case.
Scottish Ministers’ decision
Scottish Ministers will write to the council within the eight-week period to confirm whether they are issuing a call-in notice. An electronic version of the notification letter will be published on the Scottish Government website at the link below.
May 2025
Notice of decision by Moray Council to close Crossroads Primary School
On 21 May 2025, Moray Council took the decision to implement the proposal to close Crossroads Primary School and reassign its catchment area to Keith and Rothiemay primary schools.
This followed consideration of the Report to the Council, the Consultation Report and appendices (available below) advising on the outcome of the statutory consultation carried out in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010.
The council was satisfied that, having regard to Crossroads Primary School being a rural school, closure is the most appropriate response for the reasons stated in the Proposal Document. These include:
- No children have attended Crossroads Primary School since January 2023 while the school was mothballed. The decision to mothball was taken as the pupil numbers had fallen to four at the start of the 2022/23 academic session and implemented on 9 January 2023.
- There were four children within the Crossroads catchment that could have enrolled for P1 in August 2023 but only one request was made.
- A further four pupils were in the catchment area for Crossroads and due to start Primary 1 in August 2024, but all chose to make placing requests to either Keith Primary School or St Thomas RC Primary School.
- Although the number of primary school children in the Crossroads Primary School catchment totals 25 for the 2024/25 session families have chosen to send their children to the following settings:
- Keith Primary – 17 registered
- St Thomas RC Primary – 3 registered
- Rothiemay Primary – 5 registered
- A school roll of fewer than 15 pupils hampers social interaction opportunities for children, who conversely benefit from attending larger schools amongst more children of their own age.
- The current condition of Crossroads Primary School is category C (Poor) overall, with significant areas at Category D (Bad).
- Prior to launching the statutory element of the consultation, opportunities were made available to all members of the community to either suggest ways to make the school viable again or alternative uses for the building that would benefit the community. There were no suggestions from the engagement and consultation that could be seen as ways of ensuring a viable future school.
A report by Education Scotland addressing educational aspects of the proposal also concluded the proposal will result in educational benefits for the children in catchment. His Majesty’s Inspectors of Education said the proposal provides clarity for both families and for staff in the neighbouring schools that the children have attended since the mothballing of the school. Children now attend schools with larger and more stable pupil rolls and there are clear educational and social benefits to learning alongside peers of similar ages and stages.
April 2025
Publication of the consultation report
Crossroads Primary School was mothballed in January 2023 as a consequence of the falling school roll.
During September and November 2024, the council’s Learning Estate Team engaged with the local community about the potential closure of the school.
Members of the Education, Children’s and Leisure Services Committee agreed on 17 September 2024 to proceed with statutory consultation on the proposal to discontinue education at Crossroads Primary School and reassign its catchment area to either in whole to Keith Primary School or split between Keith Primary and Rothiemay Primary School.
The statutory consultation was undertaken in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. It ran from 23 September 2024 until 15 November 2024, which covered the required minimum of 30 days term time consultation.
A public meeting was held on 22 October 2024, an online meeting on 23 October 2024 and a parents' meeting on 24 October 2024. People were invited to complete an online consultation survey and to make written submissions on the proposal. Pupils in the four neighbouring primary schools were also asked for their views.
Following the statutory consultation period, all documentation on the consultation was sent to Education Scotland for consideration. Education Scotland has produced a report addressing the educational aspects of the proposal and this is published on its own website.
The next stage of the consultation process is the publication of the council report on the findings and outcome of the statutory consultation, having regard to the relevant written and oral representations and submissions, pupil engagement, survey results and the Education Scotland report.
Consultation report on the proposal to close Crossroads Primary School
The documents below are the appendices to the main report.
Closure of Crossroads Primary School Proposal Document
Crossroads Primary School Options Appraisal
Crossroads Primary School Finance Report
Pre consultation engagement meetings comments/suggestions
Public meeting record – King Memorial Hall (22 October 2024)
Consultation survey responses and summary report
Map - Crossroads Primary School to Keith Primary School
Map - Crossroads Primary School to Keith Primary School & Rothiemay Primary School
The consultation report is published from Tuesday 22 April 2025. It will be submitted to the Education, Children’s and Leisure Services Committee on 13 May 2025 for recommendation, then to the meeting of Moray Council on 21 May 2025 to reach a decision.
For further information please email learningestate@moray.gov.uk