Members endorse recommendation for new 3-18 community campus for Tain.

Members of The Highland Council’s Education, Children and Adult Services Committee have unanimously agreed to recommend to the next meeting of The Highland Council on 12 March 2015 that the Council improves education provision in Tain by developing a new 3-18 campus on the site of the current Tain Royal Academy.

This recommendation has been made following the conclusion of a formal statutory public consultation process which started in September 2014

Members have agreed to recommend to The Highland Council:

  • To discontinue education provision at Craighill and Knockbreck Primaries and St Duthus Special School and to relocate to a new 3 - 18 campus to be developed on the site of the existing Tain Royal Academy.
  • As an interim measure, until the proposed 3 - 18 campus is available, to relocate current pre-school provision from St. Duthus School (English Medium) and the Knockbreck Primary (Gaelic Medium) to temporary modular accommodation on the current Craighill Primary campus.
  • To establish a new 3 - 18 community campus on the site of the existing Tain Royal Academy comprising Early Years, Primary, Secondary, Additional Support Needs (ASN) and Gaelic Medium provision to replace all other local authority education provision within Tain, including the existing Tain Royal Academy building and Community Complex.
  • To combine the existing school catchment areas of Craighill and Knockbreck Primaries to become the catchment area of the new combined Primary School within the 3 - 18 campus.

Councillor Alasdair Christie, Chair of the Council’s Education, Children and Adult Services Committee said: “The new campus will improve the educational benefits for Tain area by providing better modern facilities across the school education spectrum for the whole school community. The opportunity to include enhanced community facilities within the development will also be beneficial to the local community and visitors to the area.”

He added: “I am also pleased to hear the comments from local members as to how this development is generally being positively received by the community.”

Councillor Fiona Robertson said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Tain and Easter Ross and I look forward to a new school for the area. I would like to thank the Committee chair and officers for all their hard work and for the second public meeting held about the educational benefits of the campus. I look forward to the stakeholder group being set up with parents and pupils to discuss the design of the campus which will also need to involve neighbouring homeowners in the discussions.”

Councillor Jamie Stone added: “The campus project is an excellent example of The Highland Council working extremely hard to take on the points raised by the community during the statutory consultation. I welcome the final recommendations to approve this project and all the hard work invested so far to get us to this stage.”

Councillor Alasdair Rhind said: “This is a positive, major development for the community, of which the majority are supportive.  I echo that it is important that the community are involved in the design as the project moves ahead. The existing facilities provided within the community complex at Tain Royal Academy are vital to the community and hopefully the new campus plans will provide enhancements to the leisure facilities. It is great to see public investment in the community of Tain which is very much welcomed.”

The recommendations will be presented to the next meeting of The Highland Council for the Council’s decision.

12 Feb 2015