These were the encouraging headlines on the  front page of the Press & Journal a week last Friday.
According to the report of the meeting held on the previous  evening, it looks as though the village school can be saved when the local authority’s SNP group announced that it will vote to keep it open.
The decision follows a review of the previous Highland Council of 2006, which voted to close Roy Bridge Primary and transfer pupils to Spean Bridge three miles away.
Earlier this month the committee, headed by Marie Claire Russell, who have done invaluable investigative work, with the help of the Scottish Rural School’s Network, claimed there were  flaws in the first financial projections which added around £2 million extra to the costs.
  Group leader of the SNP, John Finnie, said: “A lot of detailed work has been carried out on the information which was used in the consultation process, and SNP councillors were concerned to hear the actual difference between costs quoted was almost £2 million. We will now discuss this issue with our coalition partners and hope to secure their support to have Roy Bridge         

Primary School retained as a focal point of a growing village.”
  Councillors will be presented with two options on May 8th –either to retain Roy Bridge or start a new consultation  about education provision in Brae Lochaber.
  Marie Claire Russell, who is spokeswoman for the committee, said: “The SNP have been very good at listening to what we have been saying. It has taken a long time to get recognition of the facts we were putting forward in regard to the finances. Although it is a very positive step, we are not quite there yet.”
  Sandy Longmuir, chairman of the Scottish Rural School’s Network added: “This is really good news, We’ve been working towards this for a very long time.”
Councillors Bill Clark, Eddie Hunter and provost Allan Henderson were overjoyed. They said: “This is definitely the correct decision. The original decision should never have been made. We expect that all our colleagues will support the local councillors, the local residents and the SNP group and vote to keep the school open.”

The General Council meeting to decide on the Roy Bridge School takes place on May 8th, and it just so happens that, on that same day, two of our         

parishioners will be in Fatima on pilgrimage at the shrine of Our Lady, and we will ask them to present our petitions to Our Lady of Fatima to save our school. Her feast day is only five days later on May 13th, and I know you will keep this intention in your prayers.
Marie Claire Russell and her committee have spent many hours investigating what appears to be a serious error in the financial figures of the Education Committee regarding the proposed amalgamation of Roy Bridge and Spean Bridge schools. She has been an excellent and articulate spokesperson when interviewed by the media, and explained the situation with great clarity and conviction.
It would be wonderful if all the hard work and long hours of committee meetings, writing letters, phone calls and travelling, were to end in the success of the school being retained. I am sure the members would feel that all their efforts had been justified.
They can be assured of the support, prayers and appreciation of both Roy Bridge and Spean Bridge communities in their commitment to strive to save Roy Bridge school for the future of our children.