Highland Council has spent more on schools during the last decade than any local authority in the north and north-east.
The Press & Journal has seen data showing each council’s total spend on new schools and refurbishments of existing schools.
And not only has Highland Council spent more on school infrastructure, it has also spent significantly more per pupil (£10,440) than the likes of Aberdeenshire (£6,500) and Aberdeen City (£4,408).
Highland spent £236 million on new school buildings between 2012 and 2021. This compares to £151 million by Aberdeenshire Council, £128 million by Moray Council, and £94 million by Aberdeen City Council.
Highland has also spent more on refurbishing existing school buildings than the other councils during the last decade (£86 million). In comparison, Aberdeen City spent only £5.8 million on refurbishment work.
Remarkably, Highland has spent almost as much on building new schools and refurbishing existing ones (£322 million) as Aberdeen City and Shire combined (£330.5 million).
Highland Council’s per-pupil spend outstrips Aberdeen City and Shire
Crucially, Highland Council’s per-pupil spend also outstrips Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City. Highland spends almost the same per pupil as Aberdeen City and Shire combined.
Of the seven councils, Western Isles has the highest per-pupil spend (£22,419), closely followed by Orkney (£20,344).
Highland Council education chairman John Finlayson said spending on schools had been a priority for the authority, and would continue to be so going forward.
“While Highland Council has a vast school estate, the authority has continued to invest heavily in school buildings and other settings like nurseries,” said Mr Finlayson.
“This ensures that our young people are educated in buildings that provide modern learning environments.
“This commitment will continue to be a priority across our diverse geographical area in the years ahead.
“I look forward to seeing many new and upgraded school buildings continuing to be built.”
Aberdeenshire committed to modernising its schools
Aberdeenshire Council said it was committed to the modernisation of its school estate.
“This will play a key role in the continued pursuit of improved outcomes for our children and young people,” said a spokesman.
“In recent years we have successfully unveiled a number of replacement schools including those at Kinellar, Uryside, Turriff and the new Inverurie Community Campus.
“We have also built two new primary schools at Hillside and Midmill.
“More recently, we pledged our commitment to building a new campus at Peterhead, and new primaries in Fraserburgh and Stonehaven.”
He added: “By the very nature of the estate across such a large region and its complexity we will, of course, face challenges.
“Our comprehensive learning estates strategy ensures we continue to allocate resources where they are most needed.”
Aberdeen: ‘Unacceptable’ low levels of funding
Aberdeen City Council’s education convener Martin Greig, who took over in May, blamed the city’s previous administrations for “low levels” of funding over the last decade.
He said: “We’re having now to pick up the legacy of underinvestment in education in Aberdeen.”
“It’s unacceptable to push education to the end of the queue with low levels of funding.
“Young people represent the future. Schools and education should be properly supported.
“As education convener I will be fighting for the interests and needs of young people.
“There’s a lot to do, but I’ll do my best to reverse the negative trends of the last 10 years.”
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