PUPILS and staff at Trinity Academy have celebrated the opening of its new sports and outdoor centre in Bangholm, Edinburgh.
An annual open day provided the opportunity to take a first look around the new facility at the school. Features include a four-court sports hall, gym hall, dance studio and fitness suite. It will also boast professional standard playing fields, to be used by a host of local sports teams, including Trinity Academicals Rugby Club and Waverley Inveresk Hockey Club.
Designed by Holmes Miller, the new centre is said to support Edinburgh City Council’s commitment of creating 20-minute neighbourhoods – giving people the ability to meet most of their daily needs within a 20-minute return walk from home.
Ryan Holmes, director at Holmes Miller architects, said, “This project placed community involvement at the centre, and the result is a facility that serves the needs of the whole community. During the process ran in conjunction with Architecture & Design Scotland, feedback helped us to prioritise open, well-designed spaces, and we adjusted designs to make sure this was delivered.
“With the community at the heart of the design, Trinity Academy’s new sports and outdoor centre is a great example of how buildings can work for people, and significantly improve neighbourhoods.”
Nick Burge, headteacher of Trinity Academy, added, “To see the place come alive with pupils, families and staff has been a wonderful experience and a very satisfying conclusion to the first phase of our wider regeneration project. This is very much an investment aimed at the local community as well as our pupils, so the design has been a real joint effort, with collaborative working leading to several new features being included, such as the café and community learning centre.”
The sports and outdoor centre is the first of a two-phase plan to regenerate the school. The next phase will see the school’s original red sandstone Victorian building on Craighall Road refurbished, and the surrounding buildings demolished to make way for new facilities, which are planned to open in 2026.
