Staff and pupils flooded through the gates of Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh for the first time yesterday as the multi-million pound Gaelic medium school opened.
Head Teacher Flora Guidi said: “It much surpasses expectations. It’s a very emotional day as it has been a long journey for a lot of people. Today is day one and we will move forward from here.”
The new Gaelic school yesterday welcomed 123 Primary 1-7 pupils and 43 nursery aged pupils attending Sgoil-àraich in a journey that has been 10 years in the making since parents first met to lobby for a Gaelic school within the community.
It is Highland Council’s third Gaelic-specific school in the region.
The decision to build a dedicated Gaelic specific school has not been without its controversy, with many in the local community arguing the funds provided – reported to be £8.7million during the build – could have been better spent on other projects.
But Mrs Guidi added: “People are afraid of change. It’s worth remembering that the school was a parental request and we as teachers support that. We don’t get involved in the politics of it all and we will do our best for the school community and the community of Portree.”
In attendance to mark the start of the summer term were councillors John Gordon and Ronald MacDonald. However – and significantly – councillor John Finlayson was not in attendance.
Mr Finlayson, the former headmaster of Portree Primary School, said: “My issue is not with Gaelic, I am very supportive of Gaelic, I am a Gaelic speaker myself and I am trying to improve my Gaelic. My issue is with the fact that a community has not been treated with the same equality and fairness for all.
“Providing a new school in Portree should be seen as a positive thing but not when an already established school, that already provided both Gaelic Medium and English Medium Education, was split with only 40% of the school population getting a new all-singing, all-dancing school and learning environment.
“We’re building an education system that is meant to be inclusive, it’s meant to be about equality and fairness, and the rest of Scotland is prouding on things like sectarianism and division and in Portree we’ve created a divide.”
A ceilidh is due to be held this Friday to mark the schools opening, with John McDiarmid and Chris Deplano presenting the evening, both who attended the very first Gaelic medium class to be delivered in Portree.