FEWER than half of residents in Argyll and Bute who responded to a consultation are in favour of an all-Gaelic school in the area.

A report has revealed that a survey conducted by the council on the possibility of an exclusively Gaelic-speaking facility attracted 673 responses over 10 weeks.

The opening question on whether an all-Gaelic school should be set up resulted in a split of 45 per cent in favour and 55 per cent against.

Among the 309 who answered yes, Oban was the most popular possible location for an all-Gaelic school, although most major towns in Argyll and Bute were put forward by some respondents.

Councillors will now be invited to consider what further actions they wish to take, when the report is considered at a full council meeting on Thursday, September 26.

Responses for why there should be an all-Gaelic school in Argyll and Bute included “To keep the Gaelic language alive”, “There is an increased demand for Gaelic education” and “Benefits of being bi-lingual”.

Reasons given for not pursuing the idea included “Waste of public funds”, “Significant cuts require to be made across the authority – not the right time to consider investing in Gaelic education” and “No benefits to children in later life”.

Lochgilphead was the next most popular possible location for an all-Gaelic school, attracting nine per cent of respondents, while Helensburgh had eight per cent.

Executive director Douglas Hendry said: “For the purposes of collating and analysing responses to the consultation it was agreed that an online survey would be undertaken using Google forms. As per the engagement strategy, the survey was provided in both English and Gaelic.

“Hard copies of the survey questions were also made available, should this be required. Additionally, a dedicated email inbox was set up to provide a central repository for any questions or comments received in respect of the exercise.

“All responses to the survey (673) were received via the online forms, with the exception of one response which was submitted via email.

“The council have now undertaken the necessary steps in terms of the requirements of action 2.11 of the GLP (Gaelic Language Plan). Members now require to consider the findings of the consultation and to determine what further actions they wish to take.”