Fifth dedicated Gaelic school officially opened

A new Gaelic primary - the fifth school dedicated to the language in Scotland – has been officially opened in Skye.

Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh in Portree is the third Gaelic medium school in the Highland Council area.

It opened to its 133 primary and 47 nursery pupils in April this year, with Education Secretary John Swinney attending a special opening ceremony on Monday.

He said: “It is a pleasure to be involved in supporting Highland Council to realise their vision for the Gaelic language. 

“We are seeing growing demand from parents for access to Gaelic medium education across the country which clearly demonstrates that the Scottish Government’s commitments to supporting the language are a having a positive result. 

“I commend Highland Council for their actions and look forward to working with them on future projects.”

Gaelic medium education is available in 14 out of 32 Scottish local authorities to all children and young people.

It is available in about 60 primary schools and their associated secondaries in Scotland, including dedicated Gaelic medium schools.

The Scottish Government’s Gaelic Capital Fund was set up in 2008 in recognition of the key role of education in increasing the number of Gaelic speakers.

The number of people recorded as being able to speak, read, write and/or understand Gaelic in the 2011 census was 87,000.

Of these, the total number of people who speak Gaelic was 58,000.

Cllr Alister MacKinnon, chair of Highland Council’s Gaelic implementation and strategy group, said:

“Bun-Sgoil Ghàidhlig Phort Rìgh is a great asset for the community which gives the young people and their families the opportunity to access their learning in an all- Gaelic environment.”