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Tornagrain: Scotland’s newest town to get new primary school by 2027 as councillors approve plans

The school was approved in principle by councillors - but what work is still needed?

Tornagrain's growing community will now include primary school. Supplied by moray estates.
Tornagrain's growing community will now include primary school. Supplied by moray estates.

Councillors have given the green light for new a Primary school in Tornagrain – the first for the town.

Under current proposals, this could see a school open its doors in the town by 2027.

It has been granted after fears were raised nearby Croy primary could face an “unmanageable level of overcrowding” as Tornagrain continues to grow.

Tornagrain is getting some new infrastructure. Picture by SANDY McCOOK.

What are the current plans for the new school?

Currently, the school will open in phases with the first stage bringing eight classrooms.

This means the “gradually” built school will open at half capacity.

Tornagrain itself is still growing, with the town housing over 750 residents as of last year.

Two further phases of four classroom block extensions will bring the total capacity of the school up to 16 classrooms.

A potential site for the school has been identified and now work begins for council planners to draw up detailed plans for the school.

An older aerial image of the Tornagrain school site. Supplied by Highland Council.
And the latest view of Tornagrain, with the site highlighted in yellow. Supplied by Google Earth.

Councillors silence school critics

Critics of the new school argued “there’s not enough children [in Tornagrain] to make a new school worth building”.

However, council officers say there are 157 primary school pupils within nearby Croy’s catchment, with 43 already on a waiting list to transfer.

Most of these are in Croy primary, which has seen the school stretch past its 100 pupil capacity to 119.

Two ‘modular’ classroom units have been tacked onto Croy primary “to address capacity issues in the short term”.

But Highland Council’s own school forecast expects the number of pupils in Cory’s catchment to more than double to 300 by 2038.

Croy Primary School. Supplied by Google Maps

Croy not a school solution for Tornagrain

Children in Tornagrain currently have to travel 1.5km along a partially unpaved and unlit path each day to get to school in Croy.

Some members of the public had raised safety concerns around this as part of the consultation on Tornagrain’s new school.

The hope is the new school will have suitably safer travel arrangements for pupils as part of Highland Council’s active travel network.

Combined with the current overcrowding, councillors soon agreed with the proposed educational benefits a new school would bring for future pupils.

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