The west side of Inverness is to have a new primary school, after a vote by Highland councillors yesterday.
The new school has the working name Ness Castle Primary and will serve the existing and future housing developments of Ness Castle and Ness-side.
It’s expected to open in August 2021, with a roll of 143.
Highland Council said it expects an annual rise in Ness Castle’s school roll, reaching 630 by 2032/33.
The primary will also offer pre-school provision, and have a flexible design to adapt to changing needs over time.
The school will have a Games Hall, grass playing field and multi-use games area.
The catchment area of the new school was also approved by councillors yesterday.
It begins on the River Ness just below Whin Island, from there running east to the B862. It then runs south-west along the B862 to where it meets Holm Burn, after which it extends south and east until it meets Lochardil primary’s catchment area.
The parts of Holm primary’s catchment area that lie south and west of that line will be included in Ness Castle’s catchment area.
The new school will protect Holm primary from over-capacity by holding Holm’s roll stable at between 126 and 144 up to 2030/31, according to council projections.
While welcoming the announcement of the new primary, some local councillors expressed concerns about the bigger picture.
Inverness Ness-side councillor Ron MacWilliam said he was concerned that Highland Council had not yet learned the lessons of the past in education provision for areas of rapid growth.
He said: “In the Ness-side ward all primary schools are either at or approaching maximum capacity. The obvious solution in this part of Inverness is to move Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis to a new site and for that building to be requisitioned for a new Slackbuie English-medium catchment.
“If Ness Castle Primary comes on stream without simultaneously addressing the problems, like overcapacity, in the immediate neighbouring catchments the new school will fill up quickly with ‘out of catchment’ placing requests.
“The absence of a plausible long-term strategic plan for education provision is worrying in the midst of intense housing development and the administration needs to act urgently to develop one.“
Inverness South councillor Ken Gowans said: “The council isn’t bringing any reports forward for Inverness schools, which is one of the biggest budget pressures we’ve got.
“What we get is private members’ briefings which are only attended by a few councillors in Inverness, but we’ve got 74 councillors who need to know what’s going on.”