£4m cash boost for Gaelic medium schools

THE Scottish Government will provide an additional £4 million to support Gaelic and improve Gaelic schools across Scotland, it has emerged.

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Gaelic College has been awarded £3m to secure a long-term future for the college and surrounding area. The funding will help develop the new village of Kilbeg near the Skye campus to provide more education, residential and business accommodation to ensure the long-term regeneration of the area.

Additional funding of £1m will be available for local authorities across the country to bid in to through the Gaelic Schools Capital Fund to support new or expanded Gaelic medium education.

Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland’s Languages Alasdair Allan said: "Sabhal Mòr Ostaig makes an important contribution to the area beyond its obvious tuition and promotion of Gaelic. This funding will help create new opportunities for the college and secure its future and to extend its education, cultural and economic role within Skye and throughout Scotland.

"Ongoing improvements to deliver better facilities and infrastructure for Gaelic medium education demonstrates the increasing demand to support young children develop bilingual language skills as part of their natural development."

The funding is part of the £205m package of construction and maintenance projects to begin this year announced by Finance Secretary John Swinney in December.

Local authorities across the country which provide Gaelic medium education (GME) will benefit from an additional £1m investment to the Gaelic Schools Capital Fund. In the past the fund has allowed for expansion in GME through building schools, renovation of schools, improvements in facilities and providing demountable classrooms.