New Mull school campus to be built in Tobermory

Councillors have agreed to build Mull's new high school in Tobermory.

The decision means most pupils in the south of the island would still have to travel to the mainland by ferry to attend school in Oban and stay overnight in hostels.

The proposed £43m campus would be built less than a mile from the island's current high school in Tobermory.

Some parents in the south of Mull have called for a more central location, such as Craignure, or splitting the campus across two locations.

For decades children on Mull have been divided by the location of the island's only high school.

Pupils living in the north of Scotland's fourth largest island go to school in Tobermory, its main settlement.

Because the town is more than an hour-and-a-half away by road from southern parts of the island, most children living there travel by ferry to Oban for secondary schooling, staying in hostels during the week.

A number of councillors registered their dissent during an hours-long, and at times heated, meeting on the proposal.

The next stages of the campus project include further consultation and a planning application.

The campus, which would cater for two to 18-year-olds, has been proposed for a site called Tobermory South.

Council chiefs told the meeting it was selected following 10 months of "intensive work".

After reaching the decision to approve the new campus, Councillor Audrey Forrest - the policy lead for education - said providing every child and young person on Mull with a quality education was at the heart of the decision.

"This has been by no means easy and we understand there are many different views as to where the new 2-18 campus should be located," she said.

"This is about being both ambitious and realistic about what we can deliver for Mull. Unfortunately, even a £43m investment cannot be all things to all people when there are mixed community views.

"That said, our priority has to be our young people, delivering a contemporary campus that opens up further opportunities for them and benefits the whole of Mull in the long term."

Three other locations for the campus were considered - the current school site in Argyll Terrace, and Garmony and Craignure which are both south of Tobermory.

Education chiefs said there were important benefits to having a joint campus, including staff being able to help out in different areas across the school and pupils having the chance to form "strong relationships".

Officials said the current high school was the authority's "most challenged" in terms of its suitability.

They said it was becoming increasingly expensive to keep it wind and watertight.

During the debate, Oban North and Lorn councillor Julie McKenzie said she had "serious misgivings" about a single-site campus and asked if a split site could be further explored.

Council chiefs said a split campus would cost the authority an additional £12m.

They also warned any delays could put securing Scottish government funding at risk.