Celebration of major Cauldeen Primary School upgrade

A £1.2 million refurbishment of Cauldeen Primary School,  Inverness, was celebrated at a ceremony at the school today (Friday) at which Hugh Fraser, The Highland Council’s  Director of Education, Culture and Sport, and Councillor Norrie Donald  joined staff and pupils in planting native trees in the school’s already improved and well planted grounds.

Guests were then  given a tour of the refurbished school buildings before being entertained by some short performances by pupils.

According to Head Teacher, George Glass, the upgrade has been a superb team effort involving the Council, contractors, community, parents, pupils and staff. Pupils worked closely with Dufi Ltd, the artists who designed the City Centre landscaping, to design the colours and art on the outside of the buildings.

Mr Glass said: “The ethos of the school is clearly evident through exterior wall designs using the children’s own words, spelling out their views of what is important to them and what Cauldeen Primary School represents. The totally refurbished windows throughout the school are already leading to significant energy saving in classrooms and corridors while also reducing the school’s carbon footprint. The grounds have been imaginatively replanted through the hard work of our very active and supportive parent group who have contributed trees and plants, an outdoor classroom and performance area, pathways and planters as well as running a very successful lunchtime gardening club for our children.

“The parents’ group also supplied and will unveil a carving of the Cauldeen Eagle by a local artist to celebrate as the school moves into its 41st year of service to our community. The parents’ meeting point, funded by the school, with decking area and seats provides a social meeting place for our parents picking up their children while our fully refurbished and extended nursery offers an excellent first experience for our younger children. The early stages classrooms have also been fully refurbished and, as with the classrooms throughout the school, are equipped with some of the latest educational technology to support excellence in learning and teaching.”