Highland Council agrees to build first Tornagrain primary school as pupil rolls rise in Inverness and Nairn
A new school will be built between Nairn and Inverness after Highland Council’s education committee approved proposals.
Back in September, the council launched a statutory consultation on plans to create a primary school for the fast-growing planned village of Tornagrain.
The town project between Inverness and Nairn had over 750 new residents as of last year.
It was said at the time that what would be the village’s first school could be opened in time for the 2027/ 28 session.
Earlier today, the education committee agreed to press on with the proposal, citing a “clear need” for new educational provision given increases in population on housing estates served by the nearest schools.
Education committee chairman Cllr John Finlayson said: “I’m delighted that the committee has approved the recommendation to create a new primary school for Tornagrain.
“There is a clear need to address the steadily rising roll at Croy Primary, which will not have the capacity to accommodate the number of children from new housing developments in the area.
“A great deal of work is required to progress the detailed design, planning process and construction of the new school and the conclusion of the Tornagrain consultation represents an important step forward in this process.”
The education committee’s recommendation will be presented for formal council approval when the full council meets on March 27.
Some critics of the new school have argued that there are not enough children in Tornagrain to make a new school worth building.
But council officers countered that there were 157 primary school age pupils within nearby Croy’s catchment, with 43 already on a waiting list to transfer.
Children in Tornagrain currently have to travel a mile along a partially unpaved and unlit path each day to go to school in Croy.
Other members of the public raised safety concerns as part of the consultation.
Plans suggest new school will expand “gradually”, opening at half capacity with eight classrooms. Extensions will be built in four-classroom blocks up to a total of 16 classrooms.
Designers have yet to draw up detailed plans for the site.
