Achi news desk-
I keep rolling south, catching glimpses of a shimmering sea as the road winds along, before coming to a stop at my destination.
In front of me, a collection of modern, whitewashed buildings – the kind you can always say is ‘official’ – huddle together near the edge of the coast, framed by Cnwdart’s towering landscape across the water
Resting under a freshly washed sky and bathed in a rare flash of early spring sunlight, the whole scene is like a postcard image – but one so perfect you think it has to be be a painting instead of a photograph. All this it really couldn’t be real.
But it’s not only real: it’s a real Scottish college.
This is Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Scotland’s only Gaelic-medium further and higher education institution, and the National Center for Gaelic Language and Culture.
It’s quite possible that you’ve never heard of it before, and in most cases, it’s unlikely that you’ve ever visited, although you may have passed by on the way north after crossing of Malaig.
The college was founded half a century ago by Sir Iain Noble, the Berlin-born son of a diplomat who started in commercial banking but became a powerful advocate for the recognition, protection and development of Gaelic language and culture. He was also, as it happens, responsible for the country’s first bilingual road signs.
In 1972, Noble purchased 20,000 acres of land on the Isle of Skye, located mainly in the south-eastern Sleat peninsula; the following year, located in an old farmstead which is still in use today, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig was born.
The mission was clear: to revive – in a literal sense – the Gaelic language and culture, supporting people to become active users and participants while also encouraging the expansion of Gaelic (back) into everyday life. The organization’s current slogan is ‘Thigibh beò sa Gàidhligh’, which seems to perfectly summarize the operational principles that underpin its work.
This is not just a college where classes are held through the medium of Gaelic – it is essentially a Gaelic institution. Almost everything that happens here – teaching, administration, board meetings, passing conversations in the corridors – is in Gaelic.
Walking around the campus, it quickly becomes clear that this is unlike anywhere else I’ve visited in Scotland, and although I do find a bit of English written on some ( (but not all) of the signs and posters I pass, it’s always clear that these are translations for visiting English speakers, just as you might expect in any number of locations across Europe. It doesn’t make me feel unwelcome, but it does remind me that my language and culture, although they dominate everything else in Scotland, are not at the helm here – and that is very encouraging. for me
It’s not just the language that sets this place apart. One of the many unique aspects of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is the Comais Course, an innovative initiative which sees Gaelic learners who are beginners and intermediate experience a whole year of linguistic immersion before starting their studies (no English at all). A version for more advanced speakers, called Gàidhlig is Conaltradh, is also available.
This immersion forms much of the foundation of the Gaelic education available here, and allows students to complete courses such as DipHE in Gaelic Media, BA (Hons) Gaelic and Education, MSc Material Culture and Highland History, and even a PhD in Gaelic and Celtic Studies. Apprenticeships, SVQs and distance learning certifications are also available.
But as impressive as the range of qualifications might be, one of the most interesting things about this college is actually the way non-certificate short courses are presented as part of the institution’s core mission. Sabhal Mor Ostaig makes more use of these courses, which have been actively discouraged elsewhere, than other colleges in the country, something made possible by its independent outcome agreement with the Scottish Government.
Many are completed during the Easter and summer holidays, the latter also including Seachdain Nan Teachlach from 8-12 July. During these periods, full-time students move out and college accommodation is offered alongside classes, allowing even these short-term students to experience some immersion in this extraordinary campus.
This summer, alongside Gaelic classes over seven levels, the college is offering short courses such as Small Pipes (with Ross Ainslie), Art in a Gaelic Environment (with Sharon Cooper), and Learning Through Living Culture in Flodigari (with Alec ‘Valtos’ MacDonald)
Participants come from all over. During Easter 2024, a couple of German teenagers are said to have traveled on planes, trains and the Calmac ferry to spend a week studying Gaelic – having started learning using the Duolingo app.
More than anything else, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig feels purposeful. Founders and principles and national missions all help with that, but in the end, the staff are responsible for that. What stood out to me most during my visit, above the stunning setting and the fascinating history and the truly uplifting vision, was the clear sense that those who work here are committed not only to their students, or even to the existence of the institution, but also to that purpose. There is a point to this place that goes beyond a regular understanding of education, and the people I speak to seem proud to be at the heart of it. I think they are right to be.
The crucial thing to understand is that Sabhal Mòr Ostaig does not exist keep Gaelic It’s not about the past, or even the present, really. In the end, he is here to build a better, more Gaelic future – for the community he serves and for the rest of us too.
It’s about learning, yes – but it’s also about living.
That mentality is very clearly symbolized in what is happening at the back of the campus, where various new homes can be found in various states of completion. At first I assume it’s particularly impressive student accommodation, and then I start to wonder if it might just be a small housing development that happens to be located next to the college grounds. Both ideas turn out to be completely wrong.
What I am looking at is Baile na Cille Bige (Kilbeg Village) which is the first new village to be built in the West Highlands for over 100 years. Described to me as a “public/private, community-led project,” it will eventually offer 29 affordable homes, and has involved a significant capital investment by the college.
The name of the new village comes after a settlement whose inhabitants were forced out during the Highland Clearances. Since the opening of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig half a century ago, the population of this area has more than doubled, and now Baile Na Cille Bige represents the next step forward in rebuilding a community that is not only sustainable, but vibrant.
And then, all too soon, it’s time to get going: I’ve got a ferry to catch, and a long journey back to Glasgow on the other side of that voyage. A whole day’s visit feels like it lasted an hour at best
The slipway for the crossing to Malaig is a few minutes down the road, so I’m soon standing on the top deck of the boat, looking back along the coast as we head across the sea from Skye, and when the college campus will reappear as we head out of the bay, shining like a beacon in this incredible environment, I promise myself I’ll be back.
