The new Ness Castle Primary School in Inverness was supposed to open in August, before being knocked back to October and now January.
But when it comes to building a caring and welcoming community, Ness Castle pupils and staff are well ahead of schedule.
For now, Ness Castle is sharing space on nearby Holm Primary School’s campus. Through a combination of temporary units and available classroom space, Ness Castle has carved out its own corner at Holm.
And if you pay a visit to their temporary setup, you won’t see any tiny faces frowning over construction delays.
That’s because being the first cohorts at a new school comes with plenty of perks: Pupils got to pick their school colours, name their mascot (Nessie, of course) and they’re getting a say in their daily schedules.
Head teacher Craig Connon said that he was grateful, but not surprised, to see pupils and staff coming together right out of the gates.
Cooking up community spirit
Mr Connon said the relationship between Ness Castle and their hosts at Holm has been great.
Building a relationship with outside students and staff isn’t something that every school has the chance to do.
With luck, he said, the benefits of those personal and professional relationships can continue even after Ness Castle moves out.
Last week, the school hosted one of its first major school events, the Great Ness Castle Bake Off.
Students whipped up their favourite sweet treats and wowed a panel of expert judges with their creativity. They raised more than £400 in the process.
The Great Ness Castle Bake Off
Watching the pupils file through the gym and soak in the glory of all the sweets on display, no one seemed like guests on a temporary campus.
There were smiles and laughs as they pointed out their creations and explained to some of the Holm pupils what the fuss was about.
‘Excited to be exhausted’
But before a school can pull off something like a home-grown Bake Off, staff and parents put in a lot of work.
Before the school year, Ness Castle arranged parent events to start building a team network. These ranged from virtual meet-ups to park walks, and Mr Connon said they were vital for a positive start to the year.
And as for the teachers themselves, they were faced with turning empty rooms and blank walls into stimulating and welcoming classrooms.
In fact, P4 teacher Brianna Walker said that the first day of school – normally one of the most hectic days of the year – was a welcome relief.
“We have had so much to do, but being in the classroom is the calmest I’ve felt,” she said. “You don’t normally feel so calm on day one.”
Family over facilities
This first cohort of students and staff are going to be part of Ness Castle history, Mr Connon said. He wants to see Ness Castle up there with the top schools in the Highlands, if not Scotland.
And he said there’s no reason to wait until they get into the new building to start building the school community.
“We’re going to have this amazing building when it’s ready,” he said. “But what we’ve shown here is that we don’t need the amazing building to start building to that now.”
It wasn’t until late in the summer that the full team of staff took shape. The staff all have different levels of experience, but the one thing they have in common is they’re all new.
That means no cliques, no entrenched hierarchies to navigate and lots of reasons to collaborate.
Sophie Shepherd, who teaches Ness Castle’s joint P5/6 class, said it’s been helpful that all staff members are in the same position.
“It’s been helpful getting to benefit from everyone’s experiences. You learn so much having someone there with experience but is still just as new.”
A head teacher’s dream
Having a wealth of experience and variety of voices is crucial for every school.
And Mr Connon said that’s only amplified at a school with no history, and no past traditions to lean on.
He called it a head teacher’s dream to take charge of a school in its first year and be a part of history.
And from nursery to P6, and probationary teachers to old hands, he’s watched a group of strangers transform into a family in just a few short months.
“Every teacher has their own areas of expertise, and the best thing is they’re able to take on shared leadership,” he said.
“We’re all new together and so we’re all in this together. What we’ve achieved is nothing short of amazing.”
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