The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Showcase school ‘not fit for purpose’
EDUCATION: £12m build bursting at seams just days after opening
A showpiece Angus primary has been branded “not fit for purpose” after opening over-capacity for the new school year.
The new Timmergreens has opened its doors as part of a £12 million phase of the Arbroath schools project which has seen Warddykes replaced.
But The Courier can reveal the school’s day one roll was 231 youngsters – 14 pupils or 6% above capacity – and children are already being taught outwith proper classrooms.
Arbroath councillor Ewan Smith and the authority’s education convener Sheena Welsh frequently clashed over the prospect of Timmergreens opening over-capacity and Mr Smith said the situation was “utterly ridiculous”.
The wraps have come off ambitious plans for a new multi-million-pound secondary school in Perth.
An artist’s impression shows how the 1,100-capacity Bertha Park development could look.
The new Perth and Kinross Council school is part of a £1 billion city expansion being created by developer Springfield Properties.
Around 3,000 homes are being built on the site and designers of the new secondary school have set aside space in the grounds for a new primary school building, if needed.
Several grass sports fields are planned as part of the £23m school, as well as an all-weather pitch.
Facilities for pupils with additional support needs will also be provided.
The council successfully secured £15.3m of Scottish Government funds for the new school in July 2012. Later that year, the local authority agreed to pay £7.6m towards the scheme.
Originally, a condition of the funding is that the new school must be up and running by the end of March 2018.
However, the opening date was postponed until 2019 after complaints from parents about the original plan to phase in pupils.
Many parents objected to having to move their children midway through term and called for the opening to be delayed until after the summer break.
Education Scotland had also criticised the timescale, claiming the transition would see the first wave of S1 pupils being forced to change schools twice within the space of a year.
After further negotiations, the Scottish Government agreed to re-phased funding until the next financial year.
Sub-committee convener Bob Band said: “Plans for the new secondary school at Bertha Park are proceeding at a pace.”
The new school has yet to secure planning consent.