Record new schools this year

Twenty nine newly built or refurbished school buildings will open to pupils across Scotland during this academic year, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced today.

The new schools are part of the Scottish Government’s £1.8 billion Schools for the Future programme, which will see a total of 112 schools rebuilt or refurbished by 2020.

This will be the highest number of school buildings to open in any one year since the programme began in 2009.

The announcement comes on the same day the First Minister unveils her 2016/17 Programme for Government.

Speaking ahead of a visit to see the construction work underway at the new Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh, the First Minister said:

“Today we will publish our Programme for Government – an ambitious plan to improve the lives of people across Scotland.

“Education is at the heart of our plans, and I am committed to doing all I can to improve the life chances of every child and young person. Ensuring children are able to learn in new, modern, fit for purpose surroundings is a crucial part of this.

“By the end of this parliament we will have delivered 112 new or refurbished schools across every local authority in Scotland – more than double the number envisaged when the Schools for the Future programme started.

“These new school building projects also provide an important boost to local economies through the creation of construction jobs and apprenticeships. This is key to our committment to boost the Scottish economy through infrastructure investment. Last month, I announced £100 million spending on infrastructure in this financial year and later today, I’ll also outline the key priorities for my government in the year ahead. It is a strong programme that will deliver the very best for Scotland. I will set out the details of that later today.”