St Columba’s School has been a feature of Kilmacolm village since 1897; generations of young people have spent their formative years with us before going off into the world to make their mark. We are proud of our history and the positive legacy a St Columba’s education has had on countless lives. This privilege is one we wish to enjoy for many more years.
Without dwelling on global economic factors and significant challenges directly impacting the (independent) education sector, schools like ours are thinking very carefully about how we weather the gathering storm. Following a lengthy and comprehensive review by the Board of Governors, focused on ensuring that St Columba’s School can continue to provide an outstanding independent education in Kilmacolm, we are now in a position to announce an exciting redevelopment plan: St Columba’s Junior School will be relocating to our state-of-the-art Girdwood Building on Gryffe Road.
The Girdwood Building was opened to much fanfare in 2016 and by August 2025, it will be reopening as a newly transformed, warm and welcoming Junior School with a dedicated entrance, separate toilet facilities and safe play areas. Children will benefit from the finest teaching facilities in a bright and modern setting, fully equipped to inspire young minds. More than that, we will be in a unique position to offer even closer collaborations with subject specialists ensuring that children of primary age foster a curiosity for learning, and the world around them, not to mention stronger links between pupils of all ages.
A fly-through video of the plans for our brand-new Junior School can be found here.
Selling part of our Knockbuckle Road site will allow us to provide these exceptional Junior School facilities on Gryffe Road. We aim to submit a planning application to Inverclyde Council in the coming months with a developable scheme sensitive to the surrounding neighbourhood. This decision has been carefully considered and we are committed to gaining the much-needed support from the local community to allow us to right-size St Columba’s for the years ahead, while remaining part of village life. Indeed, we are no strangers to change: St Columba’s has evolved considerably over the years – as buildings have been bought, sold, built and repurposed. This exciting new step is part of that evolution, one which will future-proof St Columba’s by reducing costs and keeping future fee increases as low as possible. Looking to the future, we plan further improvements to our estate when the economic climate improves.
We appreciate that those with links to the school will be saddened to learn of the closure of the Knockbuckle Road site. However, as we embrace the next 125 years of St Columba’s School, we hope you will agree that these plans will provide a beautiful environment in which generations to come will foster strong friendships and lay the foundations of a love of learning.
For enquiries, please email: enquiries@st-columbas.org