Scottish Government: Supporting Gaelic’s growth

Tuesday, 3 June 2025 14:22

A new Gaelic primary school is set to open in Glasgow next year after a £2 million investment from the Scottish Government. The funding will complete the refurbishment and extension of the former St James' Primary School building to establish Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig a' Challtainn (Calton Gaelic Primary School) which will become the city's fourth Gaelic language primary. Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic Kate Forbes announced the...Request free trial

A new Gaelic primary school is set to open in Glasgow next year after a £2 million investment from the Scottish Government.

The funding will complete the refurbishment and extension of the former St James' Primary School building to establish Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig a' Challtainn (Calton Gaelic Primary School) which will become the city's fourth Gaelic language primary.

Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic Kate Forbes announced the investment as part of a £2.4 million package to support Gaelic schools and cultural initiatives across Scotland.

The funding will also support:

the construction of a second classroom at West Primary School in Paisley
the expansion of two Gaelic cultural centres in the Highlands
cultural events through An Comunn Gàidhealach who will host this year's Royal National Mòd in Lochaber

On a visit to the site of the new school, Ms Forbes said:

“This school will build on the encouraging surge we have seen in the number of Gaelic speakers and learners in Glasgow and support the language's growth into the future.

“Gaelic medium education enriches communities and offers good value for money by providing better grade averages across all qualification levels despite costs being no greater than average.

“To support Gaelic's growth across Scotland, we are providing an additional £5.7 million for Gaelic initiatives this year. We are also progressing the Scottish Languages Bill which, if passed by MSPs, will introduce measures to strengthen the provision of Gaelic education.”

The new school, with space for 416 pupils, will be managed by Glasgow City Council. It meets a growing demand for Gaelic primary education in the city. Census figures published last year show a 45% increase in the number of people with some Gaelic skills in Glasgow compared to 2011.

Alison Richardson, headteacher of Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig a' Challtainn, said:

“With Gaelic medium education continuing to flourish in Glasgow, our pupils and parents are excited and proud to be moving Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig a' Challtainn into its very own repurposed school located in the East End.

“We look forward to supporting Gaelic's growth in the Calton area, where many spoke it in the past, and for the school to become a real focal point and asset to the local community.”

Background

Projects benefiting from Scottish Government Gaelic Capital Fund allocations for 2024-25 are listed below.

Project	Capital allocated	Summary
Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig a' Challtainn (Calton Gaelic Primary School)	£2,000,000.00	Refurbishment and extension of the former St James' Primary School building.
West Primary School, Paisley	£43,000.00	Construction of a second classroom.
Broadford Primary School, Skye	£60,630.00	Upgrade to Games Hall.
Calder Glen High School, East Kilbride	£51,935.00	Construction of a bothy with computing, cooking and gardening space and provision of laptops, speakers, desks and other equipment.
Greenfaulds High School, Cumbernauld	£38,772.50	Equipment to allow more children from across North Lanarkshire to attend classes virtually.
Whitehills Primary School, Forfar	£5,748.36	Chromebooks, tablet cases and a replacement smartboard.
Inverclyde Academy, Greenock	£2907.00	Installation of bilingual signage throughout the school.
Feasibility study on establishing a Gaelic secondary school in Stornoway	£30,800.00	Study to explore the feasibility of establishing Gaelic secondary provision.
An Comunn Gàidhealach	£65,600.00	Delivery of this year's Royal National Mòd.
The University of Edinburgh's Opening the Well Crowdsourcing Gaelic Transcription project	£17,305.00	Transcription of Gaelic audio recordings, which will be added to a free online archive of Gaelic folklore and historical materials.
Ionad Thròndairnis (The Trotternish Centre)	£75,000.00	Extension of a Gaelic cultural centre in Skye.
Co-Chomann Dualchas Shrath Naruinn (Strathnairn Heritage Association	£40,000.00	Establishment of a Gaelic heritage centre in the former Dunlichity Church building.
Fèis Ghasaigh	£36,469.00	Delivery of a two-day Gaelic music event in South Uist.

Glasgow is home to the third largest number of children and young people in Gaelic Medium Education in Scotland with 740 primary pupils in 2023. Census statistics show that 17,380 people in Glasgow had some Gaelic skills 2022, an increase of 7,911 people from 2011.

Glasgow City Council has provided £17.6 million towards works at Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig a' Challtainn, within an overall project budget of £23.8 million. The works are supported by the Scottish Government's £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme which is delivered in partnership with local authorities. Nine school projects included in the programme will open in 2025-26.