Highland Council officers have recommended a review of catchment boundaries for two of Inverness's largest secondary schools, Inverness Royal Academy and Millburn Academy, after both faced sustained pressure on pupil numbers. Inverness Royal Academy currently operates at 92% of capacity with 1,341 pupils enrolled, while Millburn Academy has roughly 36 more pupils than its stated capacity of 1,195. Council officers say the review would examine planned housing developments, travel patterns and each school's community links before any formal changes are proposed.
Council forecasts suggest Inverness Royal Academy could remain at 92% capacity for the next five years, while Millburn Academy is expected to operate above its official capacity until the 2027-28 academic session. The proposed study would extend beyond the two secondaries to examine capacity pressures at Inverness Royal Academy's associated primary schools as well.
Why are officials looking at these catchments now?
According to a report presented to councillors, concerns about pupil numbers at both schools have already been raised locally.
These concerns reflect local issues relating to catchment arrangements, school capacity, forecast roll growth and placing request pressures.
Officers said in the report that they intend to concentrate initial review work on the school groupings linked to Millburn and Inverness Royal Academy before deciding whether a broader reassessment of Inverness catchments as a whole is warranted. Councillors may later be asked to decide whether a statutory consultation should be launched on any resulting boundary changes.
What do council figures show about enrolment pressures?
Separate figures in Highland Council's Learning Estate Strategy Update put Millburn Academy's roll at 1,215 pupils against its stated capacity of 1,195, equivalent to 102% occupancy — a slightly higher figure than the roughly 36-pupil surplus cited elsewhere, though both point to the school operating above its intended capacity, according to Highland Council's Learning Estate Strategy Update. The same document projects that Millburn's roll will fall over time, with occupancy expected to ease to around 90% by August 2030. The council has said catchment reviews form part of its statutory approach to managing capacity alongside demographic change, housing growth and parental choice.
Which schools feed into Millburn and Inverness Royal Academy?
Inverness Royal Academy is among Highland Council's newer secondary schools, having opened in 2016 on a site close to its demolished predecessor building. Its feeder primaries include Holm and Lochardil. Millburn Academy sits on the east side of Inverness, and while the original report named Crown and Raigmore among its associated primaries, the school's own handbook lists a wider group that also includes Daviot, Drakies, Inshes, Milton of Leys and Strathdearn Primary Schools, according to the Millburn Academy handbook for 2025-26.
Catchment reviews are not new territory for the council. A 2024 statutory consultation proposal paper shows officers had already begun examining catchment changes under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, according to a council proposal paper. Earlier consultation work on Gaelic-medium provision also indicated that Inverness Royal Academy can be considered within wider catchment planning covering other Highland schools, according to a a Gaelic-medium catchment consultation report. Parents checking which school their child falls under can consult catchment maps published on the council's school enrolment page.
What happens next?
Highland Council's Education Committee agreed on 3 June 2026 to hold a workshop involving members and officers to discuss Inverness school catchments in more detail, with a further update on progress and next steps expected at a future committee meeting, according to Highland Council's Education Committee papers. No date has yet been set for a decision on whether a statutory consultation on catchment boundaries will proceed.
Key Facts
- Inverness Royal Academy: 1,341 pupils, 92% of capacity, opened 2016
- Millburn Academy: capacity of 1,195, with rolls reported at either roughly 36 pupils over capacity or 1,215 pupils (102% occupancy) depending on the source
- Millburn expected to remain above capacity until the 2027-28 academic session, easing to around 90% by August 2030
- Education Committee workshop on catchments agreed 3 June 2026, with a further update due later
- Feeder primaries include Holm and Lochardil for Inverness Royal Academy, and Crown, Raigmore, Daviot, Drakies, Inshes, Milton of Leys and Strathdearn for Millburn
