ROBERTSON Construction (Tayside) has commenced work on the £19.9 million build of a new eco-friendly primary school in Perth.
Scheduled to open in 2023, the school will replace the current Balhousie and North Muirton primary schools.
It will become the first primary school in Perth and Kinross built to Passivhaus standards, with it having capacity for 500 pupils as well as a ‘large’ nursery.
The name of the school will be agreed by Perth and Kinross Council’s lifelong learning committee in the new year, following a consultation with the local community.
Preparatory works first began during the summer of 2021, with the demolition of the nursery at North Muirton Primary School. The nursery children have joined their peers at Balhousie Primary School for the duration of the building works.
Kevin Dickson, regional MD at Robertson Construction (Tayside), commented, “Perth & Kinross Council have committed to building forward better by adopting Passivhaus standards for this new school. As the delivery partner of choice, we will be working closely with the local community whilst creating a facility that they can be proud of, and that will herald a change in the sustainable delivery and lifecycle of educational projects in Scotland.”
Gary Bushnell, chief executive of hub East Central Scotland which is overseeing the works, added, “We have worked closely with Perth & Kinross Council throughout the development of this project and it’s great to see work now starting on site. We look forward to delivering a high quality new school that is at the forefront of sustainable building for education and designed to meet the long-term needs of the community it serves.”
Councillor Caroline Shiers, convener Perth and Kinross Council’s lifelong learning committee, added, “This is an exciting project that will create a new school from very solid foundations in the community in North Perth and provide a modern learning and teaching environment to help children achieve to their fullest. Alongside this, delivering one of the first primary schools in Scotland to meet the Passivhaus standards for energy efficiency is going to contribute to our work to tackle climate change locally.
“We look forward to welcoming pupils into the new school in 2023 – following extensive engagement with both the school communities at Balhousie and North Muirton its name will be agreed at Lifelong Learning Committee on 31 January 2022. We’ve already had positive discussions about possible names and there is real excitement about what this new school will mean for pupils and the wider community.
“We will continue to work together with pupils, staff and parents and carers at Balhousie and North Muirton throughout the months to come as the school is built.”
