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Dunoon Primary School has been shortlisted for a national Learning Places Scotland Award, bringing the total number of finalists from ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ and Bute Council up to three. The school has undergone a thorough refurbishment as part of a £10.7 million investment by the Council, including £5.08 million funding from the Scottish Government, to transform it into a school fit for the 21st Century, whilst maintaining its listed building status.

Look out for Live ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ staff at Helensburgh Central Station, providing covid lateral flow tests for people without symptoms. They’ll be there during COP26 and the week after. You can also go to the Victoria Halls in Helensburgh, Tuesday to Friday, 9.30am to 4pm. Regular testing plays a vital part in keeping people safe from covid by breaking chains of transmission. Read more:

ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ and Bute Council’s climate change event has been hailed a success. The family friendly event was held in the Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre on Saturday and enabled people to discover how they can become more climate friendly in their everyday lives. Visitors had the chance to try out an electric bike; find out how ways to make their home more energy efficient; and see the council’s wide range of electric vehicles.

Pupils from Gigha Primary School are preparing to host a creative arts festival for children on the island next year as part of innovative approach to promote positive health and wellbeing through creative activities. The project has been awarded £13,500 following a competitive application process to Education Scotland’s Creative Wellbeing Fund and will see Gigha pupils joining forces with children from Clachan, Achahoish, Rhunahaorine and Glenbarr primaries, to work in partnership with specialist artists and performers in the run up to the main event.

Pupils and staff from Dunoon Grammar School took to the global stage once again this week when they made a passionate contribution to a high-profile COP26 event. Hosted by Accenture and T4 Education, the organisers of World Education Week, the school were invited to showcase their innovative approaches to Climate Education to a world-wide online audience which included leaders from the business, education and policy sectors.

ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ and Bute is set to benefit from over £2 million of UK ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ Renewal Funding. Part of the UK Government’s Levelling Up Agenda, funding will stimulate growth in the area and help deliver community projects.   ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ and Bute Council submitted the bids to the UK Government on behalf of organisations and council services who are investing in skills, place making, the community and supporting people into employment. The award of £2 million is one the largest in Scotland and came from a total allocation of £18.4 million.  

Shoppers across ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ and Bute can help boost the local economy by backing a groundbreaking local gift card scheme. ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ and Bute local gift cards are now available to buy, giving people another way to spend local and help support businesses in their communities. With a range of businesses to choose from including restaurants, hotels and gift shops, bike hire, local attractions and toy shops, the cards makes the perfect Christmas present.

There are just a few days left for Campbeltown residents to apply for a £25 voucher for individuals and a £50 voucher for families (households of more than one person) from the town’s GM Duncan Bequest/Andrew Greenless Trust. When Major George Melville Duncan died in 1958, he bequeathed money to the then Campbeltown Town Council for the ‘benefit of the poor of the Burgh in the form of gifts, of fuel, clothing and foodstuffs during the winter months’. When Andrew Greenlees died, he also set up a trust to help.

Are you a business owner looking to undertake repairs to your shopfront? The Shopfront Improvement Grant is helping to transform businesses across ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ and Bute, attracting more people and investment to the area. The Shopfront Improvement Grant is now available to smaller settlements and rural retail businesses. Grants can help with painting, joinery and masonry work.   Using Scottish Government Place Based Investment Funding, the grant aims to support place policy ambitions such as town centre revitalisation.

Have you ever wanted to have a go on an electric bike? Fancy taking a stroll around an outdoor market full of sustainable suppliers? Maybe you’d like to find out how you can make your home more energy efficient? These are just a few of the things that will be on offer at ÂìÒϸ£Àûµ¼º½ and Bute Council’s family-friendly climate change event at the Helensburgh and Lomond Civic Centre between 12noon and 4pm this Saturday (6 November).