Work starts on groundbreaking Strontian school
CONSTRUCTION is now under way on the first community-owned school project in Scotland after the first cut was made in the turf at Strontian, writes Mark Entwistle.
Pupils and staff of Strontian Primary School were delighted to mark the start of building work on the new community school with the ceremony last week.
After a mammoth community fundraising effort, Strontian children will soon be able to enjoy the new school building, which is planned to be finished by 2018. To finance the build, the Strontian Community School Building Ltd (SCSB) launched a community share offer last year, as well as receiving funding from the Scottish Land Fund and the Sunart Community Renweables (SRC) hydro scheme.
The group secured planning permission on the land it owns, adjacent to Ardnamurchan High School, earlier this year and, after last week’s ceremonial sod-cutting, work can finally begin.
On a statement on social media, SCSB stated: ‘On a rare dry day here in Strontian, there was a great turnout of excited pupils and parents of Strontian Primary School who met with local contractor S&K Macdonald for the turf-cutting to mark the official start of this exciting project.
‘Lots of work to do, so watch this space for more developments.’
It is hoped that the school will be completed by April 2018, with a view to getting the children in for the start of term in August 2019.