Class of 18 boys and no girls start school in Orkney

A primary school in Orkney has welcomed an unusual new intake of pupils, with a class made up entirely of 18 boys.

The very rare occurrence at Stromness Primary is a first for P1 class teachers, Joanna Tulloch and Susan Begley.

Mrs Tulloch said the situation was "quite something".

"I think it's very unusual. It's never happened to me and it's never happened to anybody I've worked with as far as I'm aware," she said.

Mrs Tulloch added: "To have a full class of 18 and it to just be boys is probably quite unheard of," she said.

For the boys, the situation doesn't seem to bother them much. Their focus for now is playing football and dominoes.

One boy, Logan, said the class was good without girls.

Mrs Tulloch said it won't make a difference when it comes to teaching and learning.

It was the school’s nursery manager, Caroline Easton, who realised it would be an all-boy P1 class.

“We look after 2-5 years in the nursery, so we have had some girls, but none are moving up to P1 this term."

She said it will make little difference to them in terms of learning, other than a bit of excitement being the "boy-only class".

Rebecca Robinson is the head teacher at the primary school

She said: "It's never happened before at this school. I've worked in schools for over 20 years and it's something I've never seen before, so it's very exciting."

Mrs Robinson said the boys "bounced into class" and are already starting to settle in.

There is a possibility of a girl joining the class one day and Mrs Robinson said that would be absolutely fine.

"She'll be more than welcome and I'm sure the boys will look after them when that happens."

Mrs Robinson said interaction between boys and girls was important at a young age and they will still have opportunities to interact with girls outside the classroom.

She said: "Something must have been going on in Stromness five years ago because it is so unusual.

"But it's a lovely thing and I think it's really special for the boys. This is something they're going to remember forever."