MEMBERS OF Highland Council's Education, Culture and Sport Committee are being asked to approve £550,000 of additional expenditure for Kingussie High School tomorrow (Thursday) at headquarters in Inverness.
We are confident that they will see sense and do so, meaning that there will be no delay to this badly-needed project to expand classroom accommodation at the strath's largest school.
The reasons for the need for the investment totalling £3.6 million are obvious.
The school currently has a roll of 442 pupils, which is far in excess of the 350 pupil capacity when the building opened in 1970.
'Temporary' accommodation - known as The Huts - was installed more than 30 years ago to alleviate the initial overcrowding, but is still being used today.
Local Highland councillor Gregor Rimell has even claimed that wood chips for the new heating system at the school has better accommodation than the pupils attending classes in the pre-fabs.
The four demountable units regularly leak, are cold and as such are a health and safety hazard. Cold spells have even rendered the units out of use for staff and pupils at times in recent winters.
They are simply not fit for purpose.
The continued expansion of Aviemore - whose primary school feeds into Kingussie High School - and several hundred new homes on the cards for the Badenoch capital itself means that the pressure on the school's buildings is going to grow in the years ahead.
In addition, the high school's music facilities have also been singled out in two consecutive HMIE reports in 2005 and 2007 as being sub-standard and in urgent need of addressing.
The multi-million pound plans include a new music suite with practice rooms and a recording studio, as well as eight general purpose classrooms.
The environment in which children are educated plays a huge role in their success at school. We are sure that this decision will be as easy as ABC for councillors.
THE SEMICHEM store in Aviemore has become one of the first shops in the Highlands and Islands to have equipment on the premises to help those suffering heart attacks.
The company is keeping a defibrillator in the village centre store which will be available to the public, as part of a partnership between Scotmid Co-operative, owners of Semichem, and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
No matter what first aid training someone may have, these skills are of little use when it comes to the victim of a serious heart attack. Only a defibrillator can make the difference between life and death in such situations until the 999 services arrive on the scene.
The company and staff in the Aviemore store should be applauded for their community spirit.
