About Canna School
The first 'official' school on Canna was begun by the Gaelic Schools Society in 1814, and was mainly concerned with increasing knowledge of the Gaelic Bible. The present Canna schoolhouse was built in 1878. The first teacher was one Alex Nicholson; he and his successors for the next 120 years lived in the building. In 2001 separate accommodation was finally made available for the teacher, freeing up essential space for the equipment a modern school is required to have - and for the teacher too! The original living room is now a classroom, and the upstairs was converted into an office and resource room. Nevertheless the school is tiny by modern standards.
In 1905 the footbridge was built connecting Canna and Sanday, primarily so that children from Canna could reach the school at all states of the tide. The footbridge connecting the two islands was lost in the storms of 2005. While the island waited for a new bridge the two pupils who were then at the school had to get to school by rowing boat. Now we have a new bridge which provides vehicular access.
Since 2008 Canna Primary has shared its Headteacher with the primary school on the neighbouring island of Rum. The schools hold joint assemblies and other activities via webcams.
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