AN ANDOVER teacher and her town councillor husband have set off on an adventure of a lifetime after accepting a teaching post on a remote Hebridean island.

Along with their two small children, Laura and Dean Marriner waved goodbye to Andover as they moved to the Isle of Muck on Monday.

Mrs Marriner will be starting as Muck Primary school’s new class teacher.

Chair of The Highland Council’s Education, Children and Adult Services Committee Councillor Drew Millar said: “I am delighted to welcome Laura to Muck and the Highlands of Scotland, I am sure that she will enjoy her time teaching here and she will receive all the support required from headteacher Andrew Murray.”

The role was posted by the Highland council at the end of May but was unsuccessful in convincing potential applicants to accept the new job.

After posting on Facebook, the search for their new teacher went viral.

Mrs Marriner said: “I am really looking forward to getting started in the classroom at Muck Primary and can’t wait to meet all the children and their parents."

The 31-year-old was an intervention teacher at Kimpton, Thruxton and Fyfield Church of England Primary School.

As well as helping individual pupils she set up the school’s kitchen garden, which has a poly tunnel, a compost area and wormery.

In a recent newsletter the school bid her farewell saying they were sad to see her go but were looking into possible joint projects between their school and Muck Primary school.

Mrs Marriner penned a goodbye letter, which included: “Your children are, without a doubt, some of the most enthusiastic, friendly and kind pupils I have ever worked with and I shall miss them terribly.”

The Isle of Muck is around two and half miles from east to west and has a population of around 40.

Mrs Marriner will teach nearly a quarter of the isle’s inhabitants with a class size of 10 pupils in total, including her five-year-old, Charlie.

Laura, Dean, Charlie and 20-month-old Atticus will live in a rented three-bed flat above the school.

Talking to The Telegraph, Mrs Marriner said: “I wasn’t looking for a job; I was happy with where I was.

“But it kept popping into my head.

“I thought, ‘what if we did that? Wouldn’t it be amazing?’”

She approached her now former Andover town councillor husband who was instantly up for the experience.

Mr Marriner added: “I do have all these connections here, like my job with a decent salary that I’ve worked towards for years, as well as all my family, but you’ve got to take those opportunities when they come along, because you don’t want to wonder why you didn’t do it later on in life.

“People often don’t do it because they have children, but we’re doing it because we have children.

“We want to give the boys an adventure.”

The family will be able to enjoy the isle’s sandy beaches and wildlife but will be having to tackle its remote location.

The Isle of Muck has no resident doctor and access to shops, post office and pub is through a ferry trip to the mainland.

Parent Council chair Mark Johnson welcomed Laura to Muck, he said: “On behalf of all the parents, we are very happy to welcome Laura and her family to Muck.

“The Parent Council is looking forward to working with Laura and supporting her in her work. We are also extremely grateful to everyone from far and wide, who helped with our search for a teacher.”