Oban could soon being joining the ranks of Portree, Fort William, Inverness, Glasgow and Edinburgh in getting its own Gaelic school.
A group of interested parents, Comann nam Parant Oban, is putting out a tender for a feasibility study into the possibility of such a school for the Argyll town.
Claire Wilding, chairwoman of Comann nam Parant Oban said: “We have been campaigning for two years now. We started our campaign at the Royal National Mod in Oban in 2015.
“Including the pre-school, we have more than 50 kids in Gaelic medium, which is quite a fair size for Argyll.
“Oban is the home of the Mod and historically it is the birthplace of the Scottish Gaels and is of massive historic importance. It really needs a Gaelic school to keep that going into the future.
“For the kids benefit in the school they would have total immersion. At present Gaelic stops at the classroom door and they revert to speaking English.”
The tender document published by the group states: “Comann nam Parant are seeking a study to consider the feasibility of a stand alone Gaelic Medium school in Oban with additional community use space and potential income generation streams.
“The feasibility study is part of an wider on-going campaign to develop and grow Gaelic Medium provision in the Oban area and will be presented to Argyll and Bute Council, Scottish Government, Bord na Gaidhlig and other relevant bodies.”
Oban is the home of the Royal National Mod and has a strong Gaelic culture. The town has a Gaelic language centre named Furan, based at the Corran Halls.
The centre runs workshops to teach people Gaelic and provides a place for existing speakers to meet up and maintain their skills.
There is a Gaelic Medium unit within Oban’s Rockfield Primary Campus with 49 primary pupils and three full-time teachers already in post. A feeder pre-five unit also exists with two part-time members of staff.
Comann nam Parant believes the growth of Gaelic Medium Education in Oban presents a need for future planning and provision.
A Gaelic stand alone school provides true immersion benefiting both pupils and teachers, the group says.
