Funding boost for Gaelic learning in the Highlands and Islands

By Garrett Stell

October 25 2022, 5:00 pm

The planned Tain 3-18 campus is one of five projects in the Highlands and Island to benefit from new government funding. Drawing produced by Stallan Brand Architects.

Schools in the Highlands and Western Isles are set to benefit from a £3 million Gaelic investment fund from the Scottish Government.

The Gaelic Capital Fund will help support the growth of a number of projects over the coming year.

Schools on the Hebridean islands of Islay, Barra and Lewis will receive close to £1.1 million. Another £1.3 million is on its way to projects in Tain and on Skye.

Education leaders in the north said the investment will establish Gaelic education as a priority at new schools.

Where is the Gaelic Capital Fund money going?

Projects benefitting from the funding include:

£800,000 for Gaelic school units on the new Tain 3-18 campus.
£594,000 for a new Gaelic unit at Broadford Primary on Skye.
£1 million for Gaelic development at the new Castlebay Education and Health Hub on Barra.
£54,000 for a new Gaelic classroom at Tong Primary School on Lewis.
£62,152 for education and community projects at Gaelic College (ICCI) on Islay.

A spokesman for the Western Isles said the council hopes to extend Gaelic language and culture across the school community via the integrated Castlebay campus.

And the investment will pay for much-needed Gaelic classroom space at Tong.

Barra Community Campus — An early artist’s rendition of the Castlebay Education and Health Hub on Barra. Supplied by Western Isles Council

Meanwhile, the new Tain 3-18 campus has been in the pipeline since 2015 and will provide new homes for Tain Royal Academy, St Duthus School, Knockbreck and Craighill primaries.

And, with help from the Gaelic Capital Fund, it also promises to become the new home for local Gaelic education.

Funding is timely – but will it be enough?

The funding will be well-received by Highland Council officials, who are battling “significant and unprecedented” obstacles to make the council’s capital programme a reality.

According to the council’s own reports, inflation and rising interest rates have increased the cost of some projects by as much as 121%.

The Tain campus itself was originally budgeted at £45 million, with a delivery date of August 2024. But in September 2022, the price had risen to £65 million and the council set a new opening target of December 2024.

Chair of Highland Council’s education committee John Finlayson said it’s important to invest in Gaelic early at new schools.

“This is a very welcome addition to the furthering of our Gaelic education commitments at two of our planned new schools and of course, it will also support outcomes for our young people and local communities.”

The remaining £500,000 from the Gaelic Capital Fund will go to projects in Glasgow and Renfrewshire.