New Gaelic Medium Pre-school building for Bowmore Primary School

 A new facility for early years Gaelic medium education is to be created at Bowmore Primary School.

 The development comes as a result of an announcement by Minister for Gaelic, Michael Russell, that Argyll and Bute Council is to receive £150,000 to increase the provision of Gaelic-medium education.

The money will come from the Scottish Government’s Gaelic Schools Capital Fund.

It will be spent on a new modular building, which will be installed at Bowmore Primary to meet the increased demand for early years places.  Argyll and Bute Council’s Spokesperson for Education and Lifelong Learning, Councillor Isobel Strong, said: “I am obviously delighted that this funding commitment has been made by the Scottish Government.

 “Argyll is the historical heartland of Scots Gaelic. Ever since the implementation of our Gaelic Language Strategy, Argyll and Bute Council has reinforced its commitment to the revitalisation of the Gaelic language.

 “As part of that strategy, we made a commitment to continuing to develop existing Gaelic pre-school provision where the demand exists, and today’s announcement allows us to do just that on Islay.

 “I am sure that today’s news will be welcomed by the local community, and I very much look forward to visiting the new facility once it is up and running.”

 Making the announcement, Michael Russell said: “Last month, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning and I committed to taking urgent and necessary action to create a new generation of Gaelic speakers. 

“Argyll and Bute of course has strong Gaelic links and it is great to see demand growing from parents to provide their children with a Gaelic education.  This increased investment will help Argyll and Bute meet that demand and contribute towards our efforts to build a strong and sustainable future for Gaelic.”


 In addition to Bowmore, Argyll and Bute Council currently has pre-school Gaelic units at, Salen Primary (Mull), Oban Primary Campus, Sandbank Primary (Dunoon) and Tiree Primary.

Six primary schools in Argyll and Bute have Gaelic-medium units - Bowmore, Salen, St Columba's Primary in Oban, Tiree, Sandbank and Strath of Appin Primary south of Ballachulish. 

Four secondary schools in the area have Gaelic units – Islay, Oban, Tiree and Tobermory.

 The First Minister announced the establishment of the Gaelic Schools Capital Fund at the Royal National Mòd last October.