Highland and Moray home to most poor condition schools

This followed on the back of an earlier Schools for the Future programme, which injected £1.8 billion towards improvements to 117 schools through 2021.

Although both programmes created opportunities for councils to pursue projects without breaking their own banks, there are still significant gaps.

The situation is particularly bleak in the north. With more than 250 schools between them, Highland and Moray Councils also account for almost half (45%, or 94 out of 210) of Scotland’s unsatisfactory schools.

Good, bad and everything in between

The Scottish Government ranks school building conditions on a scale from A (good) to D (bad).

The government uses a similar ranking system to evaluate each school’s suitability, which focusses on educational provision rather than physical condition.

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In Scotland, the current percentage of schools in good or satisfactory (B) condition is 90.7%.

In Highland Council, that number is just 66%.

Sixty-eight Highland schools are in poor condition. Moray comes second with 27, and while they have fewer schools in decline, their needs are equally severe.

In Moray Council, there are fewer schools in decline, though their needs are more severe.

Both local authorities have pursued ambitious projects to refurbish, consolidate and create new campuses.

But they've only scratched the surface of their communities' needs.

While Moray Council is in the early stages of a 15-year plan to review and upgrade 30 schools, Highland Council has made it clear that they require external funding for future school projects.

Plans for better Moray schools

More than half (27) of Moray’s 53 schools are in unsatisfactory condition.

Two of these schools – one primary and one secondary – are ranked D for condition, according to the Scottish Government’s 2023 school estate statistics.

The government’s official definition of a D ranking is dire: “Economic life expired and/or risk of failure.”

Moray received LEIP funding for two projects: an extension at Elgin High School and a replacement for ailing Forres Academy.

To correct the remaining issues elsewhere, the council is launching a sweeping review to assess its schools.

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According to a council spokeswoman, the goal is to bring all schools up to at least a B grade.

“The basis of the strategy is to examine the occupancy, suitability and condition of our schools, and analyse that alongside school users and community feedback, with an end goal of providing a more sustainable, efficient and fit-for-purpose school estate that supports the current and future education needs across Moray.”

She added that the council believes its budget can support planned upgrades to around 30 schools, developed over 15 years.

Time is the enemy

But a lot can change in a decade. And a review of school building conditions since 2017 shows that these change particularly quickly.

In Moray, there were 36 schools rated C or D in 2017. This dropped to 23 in 2021 before rising again to 27 this year.

Similarly, Highland Council had 79 sub-C buildings in 2017, 86 in 2018, 62 in 2022 and 68 this year.

But physical wear and tear on buildings isn’t the only challenge that time creates. Economic factors can prove even more disruptive.

In 2018, Highland Council agreed to a roughly £7.5 million expansion project at Culloden Academy. The Inverness area high school was projected to exceed capacity by as much as 250 pupils within five years.

But by 2021, there was still no progress on the expansion and local councillors were told that the project could need as much as £5 million in extra funding.

As confused parents and councillors raised questions and pointed fingers over missing or misallocated funds, the truth was more troubling.

The budgeted money hadn’t been spent elsewhere. Instead, upheaval in the construction industry caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the same project estimated at £7.5 million in 2018 now had a new price tag well above £10 million.

Big footprint, big challenge

Highland Council is responsible for 200 schools, ranging from Portree to Thurso and varying in size from a three-pupil schoolhouse to crowded campuses with rolls over 1,000.

With such a large estate come major challenges in keeping facilities up to date. Adding in transportation costs and extreme weather in certain areas, the council is regularly forced to look for external funding.

Since the LEIP awarded its first set of funds in 2019, Highland Council has submitted 11 bids, including five school projects that were submitted multiple times.

That is by far the most of any local authority. They have also had the most bids rejected (8) and joint-most funded (3).

When the third and final phase of funding was announced in October, Highland Council received three rejection notices, including one for a joint bid that would have meant improvements to three separate schools.

Council representatives did not hide their disappointment, nor did they shy away from the fact that the projects in question – though much-needed – will be difficult to progress without external funding.

Highland Council Leader Raymond Bremner said: “Having recently reviewed the Capital Programme, the Council was clear that we were only able to deliver these projects with external funding assistance.”

In addition to the four rejection notices in October, there were previous disappointments in 2019 and 2020.

Of the rejected bids, four were deemed qualified – meaning they fully met the LEIP’s criteria for impact and viability – but not funded. This was the case for all three bids rejected this year.

According to a Scottish Government spokesperson, qualified bids are rejected for a variety of reasons, including because the LEIP was designed to spread the investment across all of Scotland.

“The third phase of funding supports a priority project in those local authorities who have not thus far benefitted from LEIP and, therefore, treats all councils fairly and equitably.”

By the end of the third and final phase in October of this year, all 32 local authorities had at least one successful project.

Yet the fact that every authority has benefitted from LEIP funding does not reflect the dramatic differences in need across Scotland.

Spreading the wealth leaves gaps to fill

No local authority received LEIP funding for more than three bids.

Highland Council received LEIP backing for three projects: A new Tain 3-18 campus due December 2024, a new Broadford Primary School, and Nairn Academy, both due to open December 2025.

But while the three successful projects received £60 million, they only represent a small portion of the more than 60 schools below satisfactory standards.

For Highland Council, this means a further search for the necessary funding to get schools up to standard.

Maintaining such a large estate is an ongoing challenge, and changes to building costs and economic conditions mean that a project planned in 2023 will have a higher price tag in 2030.

Highland Council leader Mr Bremner recently made this point to Cabinet Secretary for Education Jenny Gilruth.

In a letter asking for support, he made the council’s position clear: Without help, communities in need may be left wanting.

“The Council is keen to explore any and all opportunities to enhance the capital it has available for repair and refurbishment as well as wholesale replacement.

“The scale of the challenge is just too great for the Council to manage within its own resources.”