KILWINNING is set to become home to North Ayrshire’s only Gaelic primary school.

North Ayrshire Council is the first local authority to offer Gaelic Medium Education in 21 years.

The new school will be located within a unit in Whitehirst Park Primary School, beginning in August this year, with the post of Principal Teacher Gaelic advertised this week.

The Times understands anyone from North Ayrshire can apply to enrol their child in the school. Children will be taught mainly in Gaelic and will have a separate uniform to Whitehirst Primary - although the two schools will be linked.

In August 2017, Bòrd na Gàidhlig advised and funded a group of parent volunteers who wanted to set-up an early years’ playgroup in North Ayrshire. The volunteers worked hard on this campaign and, since 2017, the interest in GME in this area has continued to grow.

Whitehirst Park Primary’s Deputy headteacher, Louise Johnstone, said: “This is exciting news and we are all looking forward to welcoming our first intake of pupils in August. It is a real privilege to be the school chosen to deliver Gaelic Media Education for the first time in North Ayrshire.

Pamela Jardine, a parent who has been heavily involved in the campaign from the beginning said: “We are just over the moon that our daughter will be attending a new GME unit in the summer, it is a dream come true and we think she will really enjoy her primary years at Whitehirst Park. It has been a long journey, but the help and guidance we received along the way from Bòrd na Gàidhlig and North Ayrshire Council made it relatively easy to do.”