Portree High School is the only secondary school on the island. It serves around 700 pupils, most of whom travel daily by school bus. Some of these journeys are long ones. It can take an hour and a half each way for those who live in the remoter parts of Skye. That should be a consideration for anyone with children when choosing which area of Skye to make their home.
In 2008, a brand new £28m school was built to replace its rather tired - and very ugly - 1960s concrete predecessor. The new buildings include a library and a very fine 25m swimming pool. These facilities are open for use by the wider community as well as the pupils. At a time when it seems that many schools feel the need to exclude visitors, that seems to me to be a very positive approach to school and community alike.
The school's academic record is good, and the extracurricular activities are numerous, varied and well supported. All children are taught Gaelic as a subject during the first two years. Those who have fluency in the language can choose to be taught other school subjects through the medium of Gaelic rather than English.
The rather wobbly school website has some good information, if you persevere with it.
