The new community campus brings together Tain Royal Academy, Craighill and Knockbreck Primary Schools (to form the newly named Tain Primary School), and St Duthus School onto a single site, providing education for children and young people aged 3 to 18. 

Each school will retain its own identity in the new campus with some shared learning environments and facilities.   

As well as early years, primary, including Gaelic medium, and secondary provision, the campus includes a range of new community facilities, including after-school access to outdoor sports pitches, a 2-court gymnasium and 4-court hall, and a dedicated dance and drama studio. 

Transition arrangements for pupils and parents are now underway, as work begins on installing furniture, fixtures and equipment. Pupils from Tain Primary (including early learning childcare) and St Duthus will begin attending Tain Campus from Wednesday 22 April, with Tain Royal Academy pupils following on Wednesday 3 June after SQA exams. 

Chair of the Education Committee, Cllr John Finlayson, visited the community campus last week as part of the handover from contractor Kier Group, where P1 pupils from Craighill and Knockbreck officially received the keys to the new building 

Cllr Finlayson said: “It was fantastic to visit the new Tain Campus and see the outstanding facilities created for pupils and staff. This marks an important milestone for the Tain community, and I am confident this new community campus will support a high-quality learning environment, flourishing Gaelic medium provision, and wider opportunities for collaboration between the three schools and the wider community for years to come.  I would like to thank parents, pupils, and staff for their patience as we complete the final stages of this project.” 

Tain Campus is the first school building in Highland to be Passivhaus certified, incorporating high levels of insulation, an airtight building fabric, and a mechanical ventilation system with efficient heat recovery. The new community campus will replace existing school buildings that are no longer fit for purpose.  

The investment in the community campus is part of a wider drive to upgrade the school estate across Highland, with more projects set to follow across the region as part of the ambitious Highland Investment Plan, a £2.1 billion, 20-year capital investment programme to deliver improvements to schools, local infrastructure, and services.