Campaign to save Perthshire boarding school raises £1.2m

A Perthshire boarding school could be saved from closure after parents and supporters raised £1.2m in 48 hours.

Kilgraston School in Bridge of Earn announced it would close this month, citing factors including loss of income from Covid lockdowns.

A £2m fundraising campaign to save the 97-year-old school was launched on Friday.

Head teacher Tanya Davie told parents there was now "real interest from investors" as a result.

In a letter seen by BBC Scotland, Ms Davie said that "an experienced and successful education provider" was prepared to invest in the school's long-term future.

She said the provider, which currently runs two successful UK independent schools, had been inspired by "the extraordinary support of the parents over the last two days".

The school, which was founded in 1930, currently has 217 pupils and 116 staff.

Its trustees gave a presentation to parents on Friday morning outlining the reasoning behind their decision.

However, they accepted they had not made any approach to parents or alumni seeking help.

More than 200 parents and staff dialled into a subsequent meeting to look at options to save the school.

An insolvency and restructuring expert told the meeting an immediate cash injection of £2m was needed.

Damian Hind, a parent of a pupil at the school, said it had been "a rollercoaster of a weekend."

He said: "Not a single parent was aware of the issues raised by the trustees. Obviously, that caused alarm and a great deal of upset.

"We are more than halfway to our target and we are confident that will be reached by Friday, all in the knowledge that a complete restructure is being planned to keep Kilgraston open.

"That is the light at the end of the tunnel."