ROBERTSON Construction Tayside has revealed details of a number of recent landmark education project handovers, helping Scottish councils to advance their net zero ambitions and education priorities with more than £230 million of learning environments.
This includes three new schools in Dundee, Monifieth and Perth, delivered to Passivhaus standards and supported by the Scottish Government’s Learning Estates Investment Programme (LEIP), alongside five refurbishment projects. Robertson said all projects were completed on budget and programme.
The £100 million Drumgeith Community Campus and Greenfield Academy represents Dundee City Council’s most significant investment in education, sport, and community facilities. The campus serves around 1,500 pupils. The campus has been built to Passivhaus standards, with triple glazing, airtight construction, and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. It also incorporates solar panels and green steel.
The campus includes a library, games halls, gyms, a fitness suite, a dance studio, and floodlit football and rugby pitches. It connects directly to the Dundee Green Circular with new walking and cycling routes and is open for community use through youth engagement, fitness programmes, and cultural activities.
In Angus, the £66.5 million Monifieth Learning Campus provides a low-carbon environment for more than 1,200 pupils. This school has also been built to Passivhaus standards with a fabric-first approach that incorporates triple glazing, heat recovery ventilation, air source heat pump, and solar panels.
The campus will provide classrooms, early learning and childcare facilities, a theatre, drama and dance studios, outdoor space for pupils with additional support needs, sports provision, and an indoor 25m swimming pool.
Both the Drumgeith and Monifieth projects were awarded via the Procurement Hub Major Projects Framework 2.
Perth High School, meanwhile, becomes the largest school in Perth & Kinross. The £80 million three-storey building provides space for 1,600 pupils and 140 staff. Built to Passivhaus standards, it boasts an all-electric system using solar panels, underfloor heating, mechanical ventilation and heat recovery. The ‘boomerang-shaped’ building features a triple-height dining and social area linked to outdoor recreation spaces. The project was delivered through hub East Central Scotland.
The previous school will now be demolished as part of the second phase to allow for new sports facilities, including grass and synthetic pitches, a 3G surface, and a multi-use games area.
Kevin Dickson, regional MD, Robertson Construction Tayside, said, “Three state-of-the-art high-quality schools completed on programme, on budget and opening in the very same week highlights the expertise and reputation we have built over more than a decade in the region. These handovers were thanks to the collective commitment and determination of our employees, supply chain and all stakeholders involved.
“Designed to the highest sustainable standards, they follow our successful delivery of Riverside Primary School, Scotland’s first accredited Passivhaus primary. Riverside has already exceeded performance expectations for energy, indoor air quality and comfort – and we expect these projects to achieve the same.”
In addition to the new schools, Robertson has been working on a refurbishment programme consisting of eight phases over nearly six years at the 90-year-old Perth Academy. Work has ranged from electrical upgrades and structural steel remediations to the refurbishment of classrooms and installing new equipment.
Refurbishments have also been completed for Dundee City Council at Barnhill, Craigiebarns, Eastern and Blackness primary schools, including roofing, general refurbishment, repairs, and MEP upgrades.
Across these projects, Robertson said it has demonstrated its commitment to generating local social and economic value. This is reflected through 75% of its supply chain spend being within 40 miles of each project, 700 local people employed, and community initiatives such as helping to deliver a new sensory area at Woodlea Cottage, a respite facility in Perth.
Elliot Robertson, CEO, Robertson Group, added, “These schools each illustrate what can be achieved when a local authority, community, project partners and supply chain work together with a shared vision to deliver spaces that inspire learning, support wellbeing, and bring people together. Having successfully delivered for these customers before, they know our commitment to quality across the build, to helping them achieve their net zero targets and to supporting them in fostering sustainable communities whilst delivering community wealth-building initiatives through employment, local spend and early career opportunities.
“It is hugely rewarding to know that thousands of pupils are starting the new term in schools we have helped to create or improve, and that these schools will play a pivotal role in education across the region. We wish pupils, staff and their communities every success as they make these inspiring spaces their own.”
