Work begins on Glasgow's newest Gaelic school

A B-listed former school building, which has lain empty for 13 years, will now be transformed into a new Gaelic Medium Education (GME) centre.

Glasgow is home to the third largest number of pupils in GME in Scotland, behind only the Highlands and Western Isles.

It is expected this new school, in the former St James' Primary School in the East End, will open in 2024.

Councillor Chris Cunningham, City Convener for Education, Skills and Early Years took the chance to visit the school, which has already seen enabling works on the roof being carried out ahead of the start of the significant renovations.

He said: “Demand for Gaelic education in the city has grown beyond anyone’s expectations in the last few years and we have worked very hard to try and meet this demand.

"Gaelic medium education continues to thrive in the city and we are proud that for more than 37 years Gaelic schooling has been an option for our families.

"Outside of the Highlands and Islands, Glasgow has the largest GME provision and it is a result of this success that we confirmed the fourth Gaelic primary school – and work has already begun in the former St James’ Primary school in the north east of the city."

While waiting for the school refurbishments to be finished, P1 pupils will start in a specially created unit at North Kelvinside Primary school at the beginning of the new term in August.

To increase the P1 capacity across the city, new pupils will then transfer to the new school in the Calton when it is ready to open.

Around £16million is being spent on the significant refurbishment and extension to the sandstone building, plans for which were passed by the council following a consultation in 2019/2020.

Once refurbished and extended, the facility’s accommodation will include 12 teaching spaces and two general purpose spaces with adjacent pupil toilets and cloak storage.

It will be reconfigured to have flexible teaching/break-out spaces on each level with a two-court sports hall/dining hall, and a drama room/stage and music/dance rehearsal space.

It will also be of use to the wider community outwith school hours with spaces available for bookings.

The school building and grounds cover a total area of 8300 square metres, large enough to accommodate a generous play area with a mixture of hard and soft landscaping together with a seven-a-side pitch.

Mr Cunningham added: “This is a very exciting time for our families – to see work start on our new primary school signals the next chapter of our commitment to offering a choice to those parents that want to explore the immersion of the Gaelic language to enhance the learning and teaching of their children.”

At the last available figures, in 2020, Glasgow had 1306 pupils in the GME cohort, a figure reached following a year-on-year increase since the first unit in Scotland was opened in 1985 at Sir John Maxwell’s Primary School in Pollokshaws.

The first school was opened in 1999 on Berkley Street, just on the cusp of Glasgow city centre and the West End of the city.

There are three nurseries, one each at the Glasgow Gaelic School’s Berkeley Street GME campus in Anderston, Lyoncross in Pollok, and Rowena in Knightswood, along with private provision at Seudan Beaga and Òganan.

Between them, in 2021, they provided early years Gaelic learning for 159 children.

The council also manages three primary schools at Berkeley Street, Glendale Gaelic PS in Pollokshields, and Govan Gaelic PS where a total of 781 children are taught.

A secondary school, also at Berkeley Street, serves another 424 young people.

Planning discussions have also begun into a further GME primary school in the west of the city in anticipation of the current Berkeley Street campus being dedicated solely to Secondary School provision by 2028.