Council to take control of new Inverness school

By Garrett Stell

January 30 2023, 5:00 pm

Ness Castle Primary is looking more likely than ever to open its doors to pupils within in the next month. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

Ness Castle Primary pupils will finally be settling into their permanent home by the end of February.

February 27, the new scheduled opening of the school in the heart of the Ness Castle development in Inverness, comes seven months after the school’s initial opening date.

But despite the fact that Ness Castle had to start their year in borrowed classrooms on another campus, the pupils and staff haven’t lost any time building a team spirit.

The partnership between Ness Castle and Holm Primary, where they have shared space, has proven a fruitful and positive experience for both school communities.

During a recent visit to the school, head teacher Craig Connon said that he’s looking forward to moving his pupils into the new campus. And even with all of those new possibilities, he is still looking to continue the strong friendships forged at their shared home at Holm.

Council finally in control

Ness Castle Primary School was initially scheduled to open in August 2022.

Highland Council was scheduled to take control of the building on Friday. A council spokeswoman said that teams will begin installing furniture and making classroom arrangements this week.

Ness Castle students outside the entrance to their portion of Holm Primary’s campus. Soon, they’ll be able to greet guests at their own door. Image: Garrett Stell/DC Thomson

It will still take time for staff and school leadership to settle in, and the council said there are plans to introduce the public to the new facility.

But education officials have confirmed that there is no reason to expect further delays. That means students could be in place and classes ready to begin in a month’s time.

Although even if everything on site continues according to the new schedule, it may not be up to Highland Council whether pupils and staff begin March in their new home.

Ness Castle Primary opening just around the corner — After repeated delays, Highland Council looks set to open Ness Castle Primary School and nursery to pupils. Image: Sandy McCook/DC Thomson

A new round of teacher strikes is expected to kick off at the end of February. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country’s largest teachers’ union, plans to call all of its members out on strike for two days on February 28 and March 1.

Time for a fresh start with Ness Castle Primary’s opening

At the start of the school year, Mr Connon spoke about how it’s both exciting and a little daunting to start a school from scratch. The biggest challenge is to build a community, which can be more difficult when the students don’t have their own campus to call home.

But staff at Ness Castle said that they enjoyed their time sharing space at Holm Primary. Holm offered a dedicated wing of the campus for Ness Castle, and a fleet of mobile units gave Ness Castle teachers a chance to build their classrooms – and school families – from scratch.

More on Ness Castle

We’ve been following progress at Ness Castle Primary in Inverness throughout the design phase.

From everything you need to know about the construction and planning of the £14.8 million 12-classroom primary school, to the pupils’ choices of colours and school name and the ways that Ness Castle has been building community, catch up on the history of Ness Castle in our archives.

Ness Castle: Everything you need to know about Inverness’s newest school

It’s official! Pupils pick a name for new Inverness primary school

Ness Castle pupils cook up community spirit at temporary home from home