Parents of pupils being taught through the medium of Gaelic in an Argyll primary school, are angered by the decision to take one of their three teachers away.

They have called on Argyll and Bute Council to reconsider their plans for the Gaelic Medium Unit at Sandbank Primary near Dunoon.

There are 38 pupils in the unit, out of the near 120 total in the whole school.

It will mean that instead of three composite classes covering primaries one to seven, there will now be only two. One will cover the first three years, and one the senior four.

Parents say they were shocked to receive the news by letter, of the changes to be introduced in August "With the loss, a fully qualified Gaelic speaking teacher. "

A spokesman for Comann Nam Pàrant Chòmhghall (the parents council) said " It has come at a vital stage in the children's education. As the introduction of English as a second language, places additional responsibilities on the bilingual teacher. It is also when the pupils are introduced to French.

"The formation of the composite class puts greater strain on the children and even the most competent teacher. We are deeply concerned about the impact this will have on our children's learning and on the promotion of Gaelic learning as a whole."

But a spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council said teacher numbers would be maintained at 2014/15 levels.

"This does not mean that all schools will have exactly the same number of teachers as last year as some increase or decrease according to pupil roll and the number of classes that are needed to be formed. Last year Sandbank Primary School had an allocation of teachers above their entitlement which is not repeated in the 15/16 allocation. No teachers are being made redundant and staff will be used efficiently across our 89 schools.

"We would reassure parents that our focus remains on delivering a high standard of education, including Gaelic language."