Salmon farmer splashes out to keep school swimming programme afloat
Bakkafrost Scotland donation helps fund transport costs to pool
A school in rural Argyll and Bute will be able to continue providing its pupils with swimming lessons until summer next year after receiving help from salmon farmer Bakkafrost Scotland’s Community Fund.
Strachur Primary School is 20 miles from the nearest swimming pool in Dunoon and the transport costs had put the future of the programme in serious doubt.
However, the Strachur Parent Partnership Group (SPPG), which helps raise funds and organise events on behalf of the school, says the support it has received from Bakkafrost Scotland will ensure the lessons remain available to the youngsters throughout the 2025/26 academic year.
The funding will enable the pre-school children at Strachur to attend swimming lessons in Dunoon, as well as all of the pupils in P1 up to P7.
We are surrounded by water in terms of Loch Fyne and Loch Eck, so it is clearly a good thing if our children can learn to swim
Michelle Campbell, secretary of the SSPG, said: “The swimming lessons are an excellent experience - the biggest problem for us is the transport costs of getting the children to the pool and back.
“We are lucky to be based in a beautiful part of the world, but the disadvantage of that is our distance from so many useful facilities like the Riverside Leisure Centre in Dunoon.
“We are surrounded by water in terms of Loch Fyne and Loch Eck, so it is clearly a good thing if our children can learn to swim.”
Important life skill
David Morrison, general manager at Bakkafrost Scotland’s Cairndow processing facility, nominated the school for funding. He said: “The school and pre-school are an important part of the Argyll and Bute community and, as a key employer in the area, we are happy to be able to support them, particularly when learning such an important life skill as swimming.”
Bakkafrost Scotland’s Community Fund offers support for projects that promote health and wellbeing, stewardship of the natural environment or economic development within the communities it serves.
The deadline for applications for Round One of the 2026 Community Fund is March 31. Details about how to apply can be found here.
