Latest news with #Perthshire
Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Times
School closed over VAT on fees ordered to pay teachers' lost wages
Staff who lost their jobs at the first private school in Scotland to close due to Labour's VAT policy have been awarded a payout for withheld wages. Kilgraston School in Perthshire closed in August last year with debts of more than £910,000 despite campaigning by parents and alumni to save it. The boarding school claimed it was a victim of the chancellor Rachel Reeves's decision to end the VAT exemption for fee-paying schools. At tribunals brought by teachers and staff who lost their jobs Judge Ian McFatridge ruled that wages had been unlawfully withheld by school management in the months leading up to Kilgraston's closure. His judgment, first reported by The Courier, also stated that staff who made claims should be awarded damages for being 'dismissed in breach of contract' in two instances. • Magnus Linklater: We all lose from Labour's VAT on school fees Kilgraston, in Bridge of Earn, failed to recruit enough pupils to stay afloat and its historic estate will be auctioned this month, having been valued at more than £1.6 million. McFatridge ordered Kilgraston School Trust to pay a total of £23,430 in unpaid wages and subsequent damages to three former members of staff. Kilgraston School Trust, which is now sequestered by PwC, did not respond to any of the claims brought to the tribunal. George Heriot's School has just agreed a 6 per cent increase in fees ALAMY In a letter to parents and former pupils sent last year, the school claimed the potential impact of changes to VAT exemptions for private schools and a roll of only 173 pupils were factors in its closure. It claimed it would need 210 pupils to break even and would have to plug an £860,000 black hole in its finances. The school also had £3.4 million of loans and finance commitments to pay. It was left with 'no choice' but to close, the board of trustees said. • Private schools VAT plan will benefit England over Scotland, says head Labour's controversial introduction of VAT on private schools was estimated to raise an extra £1.7 billion for the Treasury and to generate £150 million for Scotland's budget. However, head teachers warned it could have unintended consequences, such as the closure of private schools and overcrowding in state schools accommodating new pupils. Fee-paying schools across Scotland have raised concerns about the rising costs of private education and the impact on parents. Governors at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh agreed a 6 per cent increase in fees for this academic year while George Watson's College, also in Edinburgh, put fees up by 9 per cent, an increase of nearly £2,000.
Daily Record
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Four Scots ready to rock at The Open as Bob MacIntyre warned rival out to gun him down 10 years on from epic
Daniel Young stormed through final qualifying at Dundonald to join MacIntyre and amateur pair Cameron Adam and Connor Graham at The Open Daniel Young is out to beat trailblazer Bob MacIntyre 10 years after the pair's epic battle at Muirfield. And the Perthshire ace is adamant a late start won't be an issue at Royal Portrush. Young stormed through final qualifying at Dundonald to join MacIntyre and amateur pair Cameron Adam and Connor Graham at The Open and the quartet were together for a Tuesday practice. The 33-year-old and Scotland's No.1 fought out a terrific clash in the Final of the Scottish Amateur Championship a decade ago which was won by the Oban ace. Now they are reunited on the biggest stage of the lot and Young said: 'It was good to see Bob. I've obviously not seen him in a wee while, so it was good to catch up and play with the younger lads as well. Everybody was in good spirits and we just had a good time, to be honest. 'We're all here to beat everybody. All four of us are obviously rooting for each other to do well, obviously, being from Scotland. 'By the end of the day, you want to beat all three of them. I asked Bob a couple of questions just from 2019, obviously, when he played well here, but his memory was lacking a little bit! 'We're all trying to do our prep and figure it out and we've all got different games as well. How he sees stuff and how I see stuff and how Conor, Cammy, we all see stuff differently. 'Bob's very near the top of the game at the moment. And then I'm obviously getting closer to the DP World Tour and the guys are striving to get to, I guess, where Bob is, first of all. 'But it's obviously not just as easy as that as Bob will probably be the first to tell you. You've got to work your way up the ladder.' Young will have to be patient on the opening day as he's in the second-last group onto the course with a 4.05pm tee-time. But he said: 'Obviously you're not really used to that late, but how many times have we played at four o'clock over the years, going out with your mates or a delay and stuff? 'So it's just delaying your prep and having a chilled-out morning. Maybe even watch some of the golf and see how the course is playing. Pick up on a few pin locations and just stuff like that that will help come four o'clock.' Young is savouring the experience and has been incestivised by David Law's win on the HotelPlanner Tour last weekend. He said: 'That was fantastic. It's looking like it could be a really good season, absolutely. We're obviously only just after halfway, but Davey winning has certainly put him in a hell of a position now. 'I'm in a position where he was probably there at the start of last week, so if I can somehow knock off a win between now and the end of the year, then I'll be in a heck of a position to make the jump up as well. 'I think until you get here, you're then like: Oh yeah, we're here. I was saying to the guys we're here to go play well and do a job and obviously look forward to having a good week. 'I'm feeling good. I had a couple of weeks off there and got some good work in last week, just getting used to links turf again. I did a bit of work last week back home on some links, but it's more just getting here, seeing how firm it's got.'
Scotsman
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
The Open 2025: Perthshire pair Daniel Young and Phil McKenna team up at Portrush
Daniel Young pictured during a practice round for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush | Tom Russo/The Scotsman HotelPlanner Tour player aims to shine on major debut before bidding to secure DP World Tour card Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Daniel Young is determined to follow in David Law's footsteps by becoming a winner on the HotelPlanner Tour this season and then secure a step up to the DP World Tour - but that can wait! A debut major appearance in The 153rd Open is the job at hand and, naturally, the Perth man is excited about stepping on to the first tee at Royal Portrush on Thursday, albeit having to wait until 4.05pm in the penultimate group. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Yeah, it's been a good experience so far,' said Young, who secured his spot in the Claret Jug event through one of the Final Qualifiers at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire a fortnight ago. Daniel Young pictured during a practice round for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush | Tom Russo/The Scotsman 'I feel like Monday was a bit of just getting used to everything being a bit bigger than what I'm used to anyway. Then went out yesterday, got our work done and stuff and, yeah, it's been great.' Tuesday's practice round was in the company of the three other Scots in the field as he joined world No 14 Bob MacIntyre, as well as amateur duo Cameron Adam and Connor Graham for nine holes. 'Yeah, it was good to see Bob,' said Young of his conqueror in the final of the Scottish Amateur Championship at Muirfield just under nine years ago. 'I've obviously not seen him in a wee while, so it was good to catch up with him and play with the younger lads as well. Yeah, everybody was in good spirits and stuff and we just had a good time, to be honest. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'All four of us are obviously rooting for each other to do well being from Scotland, but, at the end of the day, you want to beat all three of them. I asked Bob a couple of questions just from 2019, obviously, when he played well here (finishing joint-sixth), but his memory was lacking a little bit (laughing). 'But we're all trying to do our prep and figure it out and we've all got different games as well. How he sees stuff and how I see stuff and Connor and Cammy as well, we all see stuff differently. So it's just doing our own prep and seeing how I see it.' Daniel Young celebrates with his caddie, fellow Perthshire man Phil McKenna, after coming through one of The Open Final Qualifiers at Dundonald Links | Ross Parker/R&A/R&A via Getty Images Young's caddie this week is fellow Perthshire man Phil McKenna, who was also on Bradley Neil's bag when he played in this event at Royal Liverpool in 2014 then for Korean Gunn Yang, the US Amateur champion at the time, at St Andrews the following year. 'Yeah, he's got more experience than me,' joked Young. 'It's great to have him on the bag. We've done a few events now, so he knows my game as well as most people do. But it's nice to just have a friendly face. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We just have fun. We know when to get serious and when to have a laugh and things like that. And he knows when to say the right things as well, which is important for a caddie, especially in an environment like this. It's nice just to have that sort of calming influence, I suppose.' Helped by top-three finishes in his last two outings, Young sits tenth in the HotelPlanner Tour's Road to Mallorca Rankings, with Law up to third after his win in the D+D Real Czech Challenge on Sunday. 'That was fantastic,' said Young of his compatriot's title triumph, with the top 20 at the end of the season securing DP World Tour cards. 'It's looking like it could be a really good season for the Scots, absolutely.
Daily Record
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Young Scottish golfer rockets in Open betting as he is backed to emulate Bob MacIntyre
Perthshire teenager catching the attention of Portrush punters Young Scots gun Connor Graham has been the subject of major moves in the Open betting markets. The Perthsire amateur burst into the Royal Portrush field for the 153rd Championship with a terrific show at final qualifying at Dundonald. Debutant Graham is being tipped for the top and the punters are convinced he's going to emulate Bob MacIntyre 's efforts in 2019 and shine in Northern Ireland. Betting aggregator, Oddschecker, are reporting that a dominant 51 per cent of all bets on the Top Amateur market have backed the teenager. The current odds place Graham as an 11/2 third favourite to finish with the best score out of the nine amateur golfers competing at Portrush. However, as a word of warning, this betting trend has not been favourable in recent majors with none of the previous eight most popular Top Amateur bets going on to land the prize for backers. In terms of the overall odds, Graham is currently a best price of 2000/1 for a miracle win with MacIntyre the strong favourite at odds of 3/10 to finish as the Top Scotsman. Below are the four Scottish golfers competing at The Open Championship and their odds of winning the tournament and making the cut. Speaking immediately after his Dundonald efforts, Graham explained that the iconic image on his shirt offered the perfect inspiration. The 18-year-old is an ambassador for the Paul Lawrie Foundation and, with the logo and image of the Aberdeen star's brilliant Claret Jug success of 1999 on his shirt, he can have no better Scottish hero to lean upon going into the biggest tournament of his burgeoning career. Lawrie came through a 36-hole qualifier himself before his magical week and Graham said: 'That's definitely an inspiration for me to maybe try and do the same, we'll see. "It's great to have his support and to be able to lean on someone who has so much experience is definitely helpful. 'I had a chance to wander around at St Andrews. And now getting to play in it will be very special. I wouldn't say there is anything specific, but every year I'm always up from whatever time it is on to watch it and keep an eye on it. "I do remember that [Shane Lowry win in 2019] and I might have to look back and see how the course was that week. 'I've played there a couple of times, but I think it might be playing a little different during Open week. It's some golf course.'
BBC News
12-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Firefighters tackle wildfire on Perthshire hillside
Fire crews have spent two days tackling a blaze on a Perthshire hillside during an "extreme" wildfire warning covering much of services were alerted to the fire near the M90, in the Craigend area of Perth, shortly after 14:00 on fire engines and a specialist wildfire unit were sent to the scene, with the road closed between Aberdalgie and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said that crews remained at the scene on Saturday and were working to "make the area safe". Local resident Louise Omerod, who witnessed the blaze, said it was hard to reach on the hillside and firefighters had a "tough job on their hands". She said crews "worked really hard" to contain the flames and deserved thanks for their in July, parts of the north of Scotland were hit by wildfires which burned for several days, prompting a police group commander Raymond King asked people to exercise "extreme caution" and to "think twice" before doing anything involving a naked continued: "Many rural and remote communities are hugely impacted by wildfires, which can cause significant damage."The blaze comes during a heatwave that has seen temperatures pass 30C in parts of Scotland.
