Highland councillors back new school for Tornagrain by 2027

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

Under current proposals, previously backed by Highland Council’s education committee and now agreed by a meeting of the full council, this could see a school open its doors 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.

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

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

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

Two further phases of four classroom block extensions will bring the total capacity of the new 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.

Critics of the new school have argued there are not enough children in Tornagrain to make a new school worth building, but 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” as Highland Council’s own school forecast expects the number of pupils in Cory’s catchment to more than double to 300 by 2038.

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 safer travel arrangements for pupils as part of Highland Council’s active travel network.

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