Children have right to free travel to GMU

Sir,

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the consultation on the catchment area for Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Loch Abar.

I do so as as a parent of two sons who attended the Gaelic Medium Unit (GMU) in St Mary’s School, Fort William.

I was active, with many local activists and council colleagues, in establishing the Fort William GMU in 1994 and then Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Loch Abar in 2015 as part of the reorganisation of Fort William’s primary schools.

I support the general proposals in the consultation paper.

However, I challenge the assertion that the general limit for travel to the Gaelic school (GME) should be six- to 15 miles. Many past pupils attending GME have travelled much greater distances.

My own children travelled 22 miles by road from Achaphubuil to attend the Fort William GMU. We also used the Camusnagaul ferry to do so.

It is good that this will be free but pupils from south Locheilside should have the right to access from this transport link to Caol.

Other pupils have attended from Ardgour by crossing the Corran ferry. Again, they should have the right to transport from Nether Lochaber to Caol.

I would ask that Highland Council be more flexible in allowing future pupils from Invergarry, Glencoe and South Ballachulish to attend Bunsgoil Ghaidhlig Loch Abar if requested. The reasons given against this is that the distances are too long for the pupils and the cost would be excessive.

Many parents of pupils attending Gaelic Medium Education in Lochaber have done so by transporting their children 40-50 miles so that they could attend croileagan, Gaelic nurseries and after-school activities all at their own expense and by considerable personal effort.

The Highland Council’s own Gaelic committee, under the chairmanship of Councillor Hamish Fraser, provided the evidence that Gaelic medium units and schools, once fully established after five years, were cheaper per pupil than English medium education. This was mainly because the support network for GME was much smaller.

I would ask that this cost saving of attending the Gaelic school is used to offset the right to access transport from Corran and Camusnagaul, and also to give serious consideration to any future requests for pupils from Invergarry, Glencoe and Ballachulish to attend GME.

This will then allow more of our young people to access the benefits of bilingual education.

Dr Michael Foxley, Achaphubuil, An Gearasdan.