Celebrating 40 years of Gaelic Medium Education in Highland

Under the title of ‘An-dè agus an-diugh’– past and present, there will be further sporting and cultural events planned to commemorate the anniversary including a youth football event in Fort William on June 20 and an exhibition at Portree Archive Centre telling the story of GME and Gaelic in education more broadly from June 16-18.

Catherine MacPhee, Archivist for High Life Highland in Portree, said: "We are honoured to take part in Past and Present: 40 Years of Gaelic Medium Education in the Highlands.

"This is more than an anniversary; it is a living testament to the resilience of a language and the communities that have carried it forward across generations.

"In celebrating Gaelic we are not only looking back with gratitude but also tending to a cultural inheritance that shapes how we belong to one another and to place.

"Later in the year, we will work alongside schools and communities, not simply to commemorate, but to deepen the roots of this shared endeavour and to affirm the quiet, enduring strength of Gaelic in our common life.

"We will be starting off events on 8–13 June, visiting schools and that will be followed by a pop-up exhibition running in the Archive Centre.”

Today, over 1000 pupils attend 21 primary schools in Highland offering GME education. A further 15 associated secondary schools in Highland also offer provision in Gaelic and the number of pupils achieving Gaelic qualifications in these schools is on the rise.

GME early years numbers are going up and now account for some 10% of all the region’s pre-school pupils, the highest percentage ever enrolled.