The first community-owned school building in Scotland has officially opened.

Strontian Primary School, on the Ardnamurchan peninsula in the Highlands, was built after the community of around 400 people rejected Highland Council’s plans to improve their old primary school building. The school, which has a roll of around 30 pupils, dated back to the 1970s and had been assessed as inadequate for both educational suitability and building condition.

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The community put forward an innovative proposal which involved them raising the cash for a new school that the council could rent until such a time as it was no longer required.

A school built by the community

In the long term, the plan is for the primary to sit on the same site as the local secondary but that cannot happen under the PPP (public-private partnership) arrangement without large penalties being incurred.

However, the council will “inherit” the secondary in 2027. When that happens, if the council no longer requires the community school that has been built, it can be easily converted into three or four homes.

Community members raised around £34,000 towards the project, with cash coming from the community-owned hydro scheme as well as local donations.

The school building was jointly funded by a commercial loan from Triodos Bank, a payment for tenants’ works from Highland Council, a community share offer that raised more than £155,000, and £80,000 in grants from the Scottish Land Fund and Foundation Scotland.

Education secretary John Swinney opened the new school this week. He said: “It gives me great pleasure to open the first school in Scotland to be developed through a community ownership model.

“The innovative work of parents and the wider Strontian community, alongside construction companies and Highland Council, has given local young people a fit-for-purpose school they can be proud of for years to come.”

Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said the opening was an important day for the Highlands and all of Scotland, but that the project had not been easy or pain-free.

“The opening of a new school is an exciting day for any community, but this is even more special because it is the community who built it,” she added.

“I know that it has not been easy or pain-free but this is an incredible day for Strontian and the surrounding areas. The new school is a great facility for the young people of the peninsula.

Jamie McIntyre, chairman of Strontian Community School Building Ltd, said the community was “delighted” with the new school and thanked all those who made it possible.

“The end result exceeds our expectations and is a real asset for our community which will help retain and attract young families,” he added.

“It has been a challenging undertaking for our community. Hopefully, our experience will make it easier for other communities to progress similar projects of their own.”