Campaigners vow to continue fight for Mull school rethink

Campaigners fighting for a rethink of plans for a new secondary school in Mull say they will not give up despite losing a legal challenge.

Mull Campus Working Group Ltd raised a judicial review arguing Argyll and Bute Council had failed to follow proper legal procedures.

Although its action was unsuccessful, the group said it would continue to argue for the school to be built in a more central location which its says would better benefit all the island's children.

The group has arranged to meet with Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth later this month.

The location of the island's only high school in Tobermory has long been a source of division in Mull.

For pupils living in the south the commute north takes more than 90 minutes. Most travel to Oban on the mainland, staying in hostels during the week.

Funding was secured in 2023 to build a "like-for-like" school on Mull to replace the dilapidated Tobermory High School, which also houses a primary and nursery school.

Argyll and Bute Council planned to build the new £43m campus close to the current high school, but many in the south of the island favoured Craignure or another similar location.

Councillors voted to go ahead with building the new school in Tobermory, which would cater for two to 18-year-olds, in March last year.

Residents lost a legal challenge against Argyll and Bute Council in February.

They argued that the local authority failed to explore an offer of land in Craignure, and said there had been a lack of consultation.

A judge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh dismissed the petition.

Lord Cubie concluded the council's processes were lawful.

He said there was "no procedural unfairness" in the local authority's vote, and no obligation to consult further on the short-listed sites.

Campaigners initially considered appealing the decision, but have since said this would be a poor use of their time and efforts.

Mull Campus Working Group Ltd said it had a range of experts on its side and would continue its fight.

It has secured a meeting with Gilruth on 18 March.

Chairwoman Tracy Mayo said: "We shouldn't really be in the position that we find ourselves now but we are and we have to find the right solution for Mull".