Schools upgrades

More school building projects across Scotland will benefit from a share of the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) to build new, modern, state of the art facilities.

Ten local authorities are to be awarded funding in the third phase worth  £450-500 million, which includes three Additional Support Needs (ASN) schools and a total of six projects which include ASN capacity.

The £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme is a joint programme with COSLA and follows on from the successful £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future Programme, which delivered 117 new or refurbished learning facilities across Scotland from 2009 to 2021.

The successful projects are:

• Hazlehead Academy (Aberdeen City) 
• Mull Campus (Argyll and Bute) 
• Lochies ASN School (Clackmannanshire) 
• Lenzie Academy (East Dunbartonshire) 
• Carrongrange ASN School Extension (Falkirk) 
• Forres Academy (Moray) 
• Chryston High School Extension (North Lanarkshire) 
• Kirkwall ASN Centre (Orkney) 
• Brae Campus (Shetland) 
• Riverside and Letham Primary School (West Lothian) 

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said:

“I am determined to deliver excellence and equity across Scotland’s schools, and ensuring that pupils are educated in modern, state of the art facilities is an important part of that.

“This latest phase of the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme will continue to support local authorities to deliver improvements in our school estate, and ensures continued progress in ASN provision in particular. This latest round of investment means that every Scottish local authority which submitted a bid has now received funding for a project in Phases 1, 2 or 3 the Learning Estate Investment programme.

“As a direct result of Scottish Government investment, the proportion of schools in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has increased from 61% in April 2007 to 90.7% in April 2023 and this investment will build on this remarkable progress. We will continue working with COSLA to explore how we can deliver further improvements in the school estate, as well as ensuring provision in those areas experiencing population growth.”

Councillor Tony Buchanan, COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People, said:

“We welcome today’s announcement of the projects which will benefit from phase three of this joint Learning Estate Investment Programme.

"Creating the very best possible learning environments to allow children to thrive is a top priority for our councils. Scottish Local Government funds 50% of the programme and we are delighted to that more children and families will benefit from access to the improved educational environments while also contributing to our net zero goals.

"These council led projects really demonstrate the innovation from Local Government and partners that makes positive change a reality in people’s lives.”

Stephen Long, Learning Estate Team Lead at the Scottish Futures Trust, said:

“We are pleased to continue our support to improving the learning estate in a wide range of communities across all parts of Scotland.

"This new phase will build on the ambition of previous phases by addressing embodied carbon, utilising zero emission heating, creating healthier learning environments and encouraging outdoor learning.”

Background

Phase 3 projects are expected to be completed by 2027.