The Mull Campus situation explained
Mull Campus is the biggest infrastructure project the Isle of Mull has ever seen, and with the location choice imminent, it is important to understand this project and what makes it so complex.
Argyll and Bute Council has estimated that the construction costs for Mull Campus could be £43 million, which the council will have to pay up front.
This means the council will have to take out substantial loans, which it estimates will take decades to pay off with the costs rising to over £100 million after interest.
Through Scottish Futures Trust’s LEIP (Learning Estate Investment Programme) funding, the Scottish Government is willing to pay 50 per cent of the cost of replacement in regular instalments. However, this will not cover the full build.
This is because Mull Campus is eligible for conditional LEIP funding, which is provided due to the state of the school, not a need for more space.
This means two things: that the council with have to provide the funding for any future-proofing or extra space required over Tobermory High School, and that the replacement for Tobermory High School must be a like-for-like campus for children aged 2-18.
Argyll and Bute Council has deemed Tobermory High School to be beyond saving, it has spent millions already on maintenance and these costs are only set to increase. It has also been decided that due to significant accessibility issues, the current site cannot be home to a new school.
Tobermory is home to over a third of Mull’s population, which is why school is currently based there.
But in the council’s LEIP application it spoke of a school for the whole island that "works with other schools and communities on the Islands for the benefit of all".
To fulfil this promise, the school could not be built in Tobermory, as it is too far from the Ross of Mull, requiring children from the area to travel over two and a half hours each way.
Therefore, a central location is preferred by many, including the 80 per cent of Bunessan parents who would send their children to a central school according to a parent council survey.
If the school were to be built in Tobermory, a hostel has been discussed as a solution.
However, due to the requirements of the LEIP funding, the primary and early learning centre in Tobermory would be shut, and a central campus would leave Tobermory without a school.
Mull community councillor Emily Greenhalgh’s solution for these problems is to build a split campus, in a style similar to universities. But that in itself comes with another set of problems.
While a split campus could see Tobermory get a new primary school and the whole island have access to a new high school, it would be much more expensive.
Representatives from Scottish Futures Trust revealed that under this idea, facilities that need to be duplicated would not be funded by LEIP.
This includes: the dining hall, kitchen, administration, hall space, offices, sport facilities and outdoor spaces.
The two campus’s could share things like a head teacher, budget, and buses; but in actual buildings there would be nothing shared.
Scottish Futures Trust has confirmed it would still help to fund a split campus.
Emily Greenhalgh said: "You’ve got to be creative with how you fund things and save where it’s possible.
"If things are done properly, we’ll get what we need, but it’s easy to not do things properly.
"The question is now, do we build the school that the council want to afford, or do we build the school that the island really needs.
"A split campus is the only solution I see that’s fair."
Mull community council are calling for unity and transparency on the project from the relevant parties.
They want Argyll and Bute Council representatives, Futures Trust Scotland representatives, and government representatives at all meetings, and for all voices to be heard.
This sentiment is matched by Argyll and Bute MSP Jenni Minto. She said: "I have supported this important work for the communities on Mull and Iona and am pleased that this is also supported by the Scottish Government through Phase 3 of LEIP.
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