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Back to new schools
26/08/2012
Over 800 pupils will benefit from state of the art facilities at three new school buildings that have opened for the new term over the past week.
More than £25 million has been invested at Gargieston Primary in East Ayrshire, Daliburgh Primary in the Western Isles and St Bernadette’s Primary in Falkirk, as part of the £1.25 billion Schools for the Future programme.
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning Michael Russell said:
“These state of the art schools are being delivered as part of our commitment to halving the number of pupils in poor condition school buildings during this Parliament. Recent figures reveal that 83 per cent of Scottish school children are now being taught in good quality buildings - a marked improvement from the figure of 62 per cent in 2007.
“We announced earlier this year that we intend to support a further 30 schools in the next phase of the programme, 12 more than originally planned.
“Each of the new high quality, sustainable school buildings will provide the very best educational environment for around 800 pupils for many years to come and also provide a range of facilities for the local community.”
Gemma Gordon, associate director with the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT), said:
“I am absolutely delighted that three new schools delivered within the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme have opened. The schools have been designed with sustainability and community use very much in mind. Each school is an exciting facility which will undoubtedly become a focal point for the whole community.”
Since 2007, there have been 358 schools built or refurbished across the country, compared to 328 over the preceding eight years.
SFT is working with all 32 local authorities in Scotland to drive forward the Scottish Government’s £1.25 billon ‘Scotland's Schools for the Future’ programme. SFT’s role is to manage efficiently and effectively the programme to help local authorities achieve the best value for money for their investment in new schools.
Local authorities were invited to apply for funding as part of the next phase of the Schools for the Future programme from local authorities were invited on February 24 2012. The Government expects to be able to announce which schools have been successful in securing funding, in the third and final phase of the programme, by the end of September 2012.