Highland Council looking at new sites for Gaelic schools
Efforts to pinpoint areas in the Highlands where new Gaelic medium units and schools could be established in a bid to increase the numbers of children taught in the language are underway.
Almost 800 primary age pupils are now being taught exclusively in Gaelic, a rise of 7.8 per cent compared to five years ago, but Highland Council is determined to widen the net by building new schools and setting up more dedicated units.
A review of its current education provision is underway after the council agreed its new Gaelic language plan for the next four years and a key part of the policy, which is required by law, will be the identification of areas where teaching could be increased.
It comes after the success of the region’s first stand-alone Gaelic school in Inverness which had to be expanded to meet demand following its 2007 opening.
The council is also designing a new Gaelic school in Lochaber and ambitious plans for a similar venture in Portree on Skye are in the pipeline.
There are 790 primary school pupils in the Highlands being taught in Gaelic this year, 62 more than 2007.
A further 295 children are also in Gaelic nursery or playgroup, an increase of 22.
The local authority has an obligation to look into providing Gaelic education in areas where parents have expressed an interest and where officers believe it is viable.
Councillor Hamish Fraser, chairman of the Gaelic implementation group, said: "We are looking at the whole area and carrying out a mapping exercise over the next few months.
"Anything we do is not just because of increasing the numbers but because of the value of bilingualism to children. I think parent now know through various academic studies about the benefits of bilingualism which have shown that it has given our children in the Highlands a wee edge.
Councillor Fraser said a new Gaelic school in Inverness, following the impact of the 155-pupil Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis, had been flagged up but is not an immediate priority as a review of the authority’s school estate is also carried out."