Alex Salmond yesterday formally opened Scotland�s first purpose-built Gaelic medium school, which he said would be a vital element in the campaign to save and promote the language.

Alex Salmond yesterday formally opened Scotland's first purpose-built Gaelic medium school, which he said would be a vital element in the campaign to save and promote the language.

The £4m Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis, on the south side of Inverness, already has 101 primary and 50 nursery pupils.

It is not, however, the first Gaelic school.

In August 2006, the £4m Glasgow Gaelic School opened at the former Woodside Secondary. Later that year Highland Council decided to make Sleat primary school in Skye the first dedicated Gaelic-medium school in the region.

But Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis is the first to be built for the purpose of educating through Gaelic. It has seven classrooms and a resource area. The new school includes an enhanced school hall, equipped with specialist seating to create a mini-venue for Gaelic cultural events.

There is also a small recording studio, a parents' room for meetings and classes and accommodation for the community learning team. The school also provides nursery and childcare for the Gaelic community in the city.

Unveiling a plaque to open the school, the First Minister said: "The opening of Scotland's first purpose-built Gaelic school is a significant moment, not just for Inverness but for the whole of Scotland. Gaelic is an integral part of Scotland's identity and a vital part of the community life and culture in the Highlands and Islands.

"Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis, its pupils and teachers, automatically become part of the international picture to promote Scotland, retain our history and realise the full economic potential of the Gaelic language.

"I have no doubt that together with our Gaelic schools in Glasgow and Sleat, Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis will play a key role to increase the status and use of Gaelic in Scotland."

Bill Fernie, chairman of the Highland Council's education culture and sport committee, said: " This project records our commitment to securing the future of the Gaelic language."