Portree High School

Portree High School (Gaelic: Àrd-sgoil Phort Rìgh) is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, Isle of Skye in Scotland. As of 2010, the school enrols 520 pupils and employs 55 teachers.[1] The school's catchment area draws from 15 primary schools across Skye and neighbouring Raasay.[2] The school also has a hostel with boarding provisions for a small number of pupils who live in more remote areas of the island. The school is represented by their mascot, the Big Ginge.

The new Portree High School A section of the new 13,000 square metre school buildings that were handed over by the construction company this week. The development cost £28m. It includes a library and a swimming pool, each of which will be for the use of the wider community as well as the school pupils. The new school will be in use from August 2008.

History

A school has existed at Portree since the 17th century. However it closed in 1825 due to the difficulty in finding a new qualified schoolmaster. Construction on the Portree High School buildings began in 1872. In 1905 it became a Higher Grade school. Margaret Carnegie Hostel for girls being opened in 1924, followed in 1933 by the Elgin Hostel for boys. Elgin Hostel is now a Category B listed building.[3]

Until late 2008, the school consisted of three buildings - the main building, the Elgin Hostel and the Technical Block, along with about a dozen demountable classrooms. In 2008, this arrangement was replaced by a new building, constructed by Morrison Construction as part of a regional PPP scheme to build eleven schools in the Highlands.[4] The demountable classrooms were then removed, and the main building and Technical Block demolished.

Curriculum

The school's curriculum includes provision for Gaelic medium education. In 2006, a Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education inspection resulted in a report that praised the "positive" relationship between pupils and staff,[5] while criticising "limited" IT and "very poor" physical education provisions, and highlighting "significant risks to pupils' health and safety",[6] thanks to poor traffic management outside the school, and a general lack of security. The building of the new school which opened in 2008 and the appointment of a new headteacher, Catherine MacDonald. [7]

Notable alumni

• Sir Russell Johnston (1932–2008), Liberal Democrat politician, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Party 1974–88
• Hector MacKenzie, Baron MacKenzie of Culkein (born 1940), nurse and trades unionist
• Sorley Maclean, Scottish Gaelic poet and Nobel Prize nominee
• Roderick John MacLeod, Lord Minginish[8] (born c. 1953), known as Roddy John, Chairman of the Scottish Land Court since 2014

See also

References

1. Irene MacAskill. "Portree High School, Isle of Skye, Home Page". Portreehigh.highland.sch.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
2. "Portree High School". highland.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
3. History of PHS
4. "Schools PPP". Highland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
5. "Inspection and review". Hmie.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
6. HMIe report on Portree High School accessed 27 October 2008
7. http://www.portreehigh.highland.sch.uk/school-leadership.htm
8. "Biography: Roddy John MacLeod" (PDF). Stòrlann. Retrieved 27 October 2015.

External links

• Official website