How far we will take the fight · 21 October 2026
We intend to pursue every appropriate, evidence-backed route to protect Banchory-Devenick School—including court action if specialist advice supports it. Aberdeenshire Council should expect its evidence, process and decisions to be examined at every stage.
01 / Current position
The consultation closes at 4pm on 4 December 2026. The public meeting is 29 October, 6.30pm, Portlethen Academy. Our immediate aim is to secure a properly examined route to reopening and persuade the council to abandon permanent closure.
This is our escalation plan. It does not announce that court proceedings have been filed or that a lawyer has accepted a case. Legal steps depend on the decision made, the evidence, who can bring the challenge and funding.
02 / Actions available now
Submit your own response. Explain what the school means for children, transport and community life. Ask for a costed comparison of essential reopening work, phased investment, shared management and viable community uses. Supply local evidence that the council’s assumptions miss.
Our demand: test reopening properly, publish the comparison and explain each rejected alternative.
Identify the precise passage, the missing or incorrect information, the source that contradicts it and why it could affect the decision. The council must consider allegations and explain its determination; confirmed material errors require correction. A refusal can be challenged with further evidence.
We have already raised a challenge. Our next submissions should address the council’s actual response and any new disclosure.
Keep focused FOI requests, challenge unsupported “not held” answers and seek review of withheld material. The usual review deadline is 40 working days after receipt of the response; the authority normally has 20 working days to decide the review.
Scottish Information Commissioner: reviews ↗
An appeal to the Commissioner normally follows within six months of the review response, or when it should have arrived. This route examines information handling; it does not decide whether the school closes.
Brief councillors and MSPs, attend public meetings, work with community councils and other school campaigns, and share sourced findings with the press. Ask elected members to explain their position on the specific reopening questions.
Our demand: a public answer, a recorded position and a genuine opportunity for the evidence to change the outcome.
Support registrations show community backing. They do not replace individual consultation responses.
03 / If the council decides to close
Check how it answers objections, alternatives and the inspectors’ educational assessment. The report must be available at least three weeks before the authority decides. Build a schedule of unresolved points with exact document references.
Anyone can make representations during the three-week period beginning with the council’s decision date. Identify significant failures under the 2010 Act or material considerations not properly addressed. Numbers alone do not establish a call-in ground.
Check the formal notice immediately. Three weeks is the public representation window; eight weeks is the overall ministerial decision period.
The panel can consent, impose conditions, refuse consent or refuse and send the proposal back for a fresh decision. Its findings must address the statutory grounds. The closure cannot simply be implemented while this process is unresolved.
On 12 October 2026, the Tullynessle panel refused consent and remitted the proposal to Aberdeenshire Council for a fresh decision. It found a failure to account properly for the nursery provision as a material consideration. That outcome shows the process can bite; our case must stand on its own evidence.
04 / Court action
Court action is on the table where it is justified. The next step would be urgent advice from a Scottish public-law solicitor about the right route, applicant, remedy, deadline and costs.
The education authority or a relevant statutory consultee can appeal a School Closure Review Panel decision on a point of law. The statutory window is 14 days from publication. The sheriff can confirm the decision or quash it and send it back to the panel.
Eligibility and the exact filing deadline require immediate legal checking. This is not a fresh vote on the school’s merits.
A solicitor can assess whether judicial review is available against the relevant public decision, including the effect of any statutory appeal route. It concerns legal validity rather than simply disagreement with the outcome.
The usual limit is three months from when the grounds first arise, subject to the court’s power to extend. Permission requires sufficient interest and a real prospect of success. Do not wait for every complaint or FOI exchange to finish before obtaining advice.
If an irreversible step is imminent, a solicitor can consider seeking temporary protection while a legal challenge is heard. An interim order depends on the case and the court’s assessment; bringing a challenge does not itself guarantee one.
Obtain advice on prospects, the appropriate claimant, legal fees, court fees and possible liability for the other side’s expenses. Ask whether legal aid or an expenses-protection arrangement is available. Any fundraising would need a clear purpose, governance and spending terms.
We are expressing our resolve to explore justified litigation. No legal fund or guaranteed court outcome is announced here.
05 / Other routes
A complaint can address poor administration or service failures. After the council’s process, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman may consider matters within its remit. Court or statutory appeal rights can limit that remit. This is not a substitute for protecting the closure challenge deadlines.
Section 70 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 provides a route to Ministers for evidence of failure to carry out an education-law duty. Its suitability and interaction with school-closure procedures need checking against the particular breach. A general objection to closure is not enough.
06 / Turn resolve into preparation
Keep dated letters, responses, meeting records, consultation submissions and receipts. Record each disputed claim beside the source and the correction sought.
Legal, surveying, heating, transport, education, research and communications experience can help test the proposal. Contact the campaign with what you can contribute.
Press for maintenance, a complete inventory, a reinstatement plan, transparent reopening criteria and a serious assessment of demand.
This page gives general information and the campaign’s intended approach, not case-specific legal advice. Routes can overlap and have different eligibility rules and deadlines. A Scottish solicitor should confirm any legal action and its timing. Sources checked 21 October 2026.
A community that stays involved
Aberdeenshire Council should make its decisions knowing this community is organised, informed and willing to continue the challenge through the proper channels.