'Devastating for communities' - Highland schools miss out on Scottish Government funding
Park Primary in Invergordon and St Clement's in Dingwall were among the unsuccessful bids for investment.
There's widespread disappointment and frustration after no Highland schools were selected for Scottish Government funding.
Highland Council submitted an application for three primary schools; Beauly Primary, Dunvegan Primary in Skye and Invergordon's Park Primary.
Separate bids for phase three of the Learning Estate Improvement Plan (LEIP) were also put in for St Clement’s School in Dingwall and a new Tornagrain Primary, but none were accepted.
Elsewhere, Forres Academy was successful in its bid for support as Moray was one of 10 local authorities to be awarded money from a fund worth between £450m and £500m.
However, one Highland Councillor says the news is "devastating for communities" across the region.
"Urgent" discussions to take place - Highland Council
Highland Council Leader, Cllr Raymond Bremner said: “The LEIP funding offered a unique opportunity to bid for revenue funding to support the building of new, high-quality, low-energy schools. Having recently reviewed the Capital Programme, the Council was clear that we were only able to deliver these projects with external funding assistance.
"Whilst this is really disappointing news, we now need to consider urgently what our options are to provide for the education of the children and the communities affected by this decision.”
Convener of the Council Bill Lobban said: “To say this is disappointing news is somewhat of an understatement and it will be devastating for communities who desperately need a new school.
"We will need to carefully consider the outcome of the Scottish Governments decision and will be urgently discussing the way forward from here."
Cllr John Finlayson, Chair of Education Committee added: “The Highland Council has one of the largest school estates in Scotland with over 200 schools throughout the region and today’s announcement is extremely disappointing and I certainly appreciate the frustrations that will be felt in the communities across Highland that have been affected.
"Despite the current financial constraints, the Council is continuing to work hard to make improvements to our education environments that will subsequently reduce our carbon emissions and provide modern learning environments to best meet the needs of the children and young people, and while LEIP 3 funding has not been received, the schools that have missed out continue to be included in the council’s long term capital programme."
Highland Labour MSP Rhoda Grant also expressed her disappointment.
She said: "Highland Council has one of the largest and oldest school estates and only thre schools in Highland were part of Phase 1 and 2.
“Local authorities – including Highland Council - are strapped for cash. Local Authorities may have the statutory duty for the school estate but if they do not have the cash, then nothing will change and pupils will continue in buildings that are not fit for purpose.
"Meaningful investment beyond LEIP funding is required by the Scottish Government to tackle this problem that has been years in the making.”
All councils treated "fairly and equitably"- Scottish Government
LEIP is a £2bn programme jointly run with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
The Tain 3-18 Campus project was included in Phase 1 of the LEIP and construction work is due to be complete by December 2024.
Broadford Primary School and Nairn Academy new builds are included in Phase 2 of the LEIP, which requires all projects to be open to pupils by December 2025.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "This third phase supports a priority project in those local authorities who have not thus far benefitted from LEIP and, therefore, treats all councils fairly and equitably.
“The Highland Council received financial support from Phase 1 and 2 of LEIP to support the construction of new replacement schools for the Tain 3-18 Campus, Broadford Primary School and Nairn Academy.
“The proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition in Scotland has increased from 61% in April 2007 to 90.7% in April 2023, and LEIP investment will build on this progress.”