Culloden Academy - extension and refurbishment

The 5-year capital programme that was approved in March 2018, covering the period 2018/19 to 2022/23, included a budget of £7.5M for Culloden Academy.

The following description of the project was included in the initial report: “Investment to extend and refurbish the Academy to address capacity pressures and condition/suitability issues. The school is currently over capacity and the roll is forecast to continue to increase over the next 5 years and beyond.” The budget was subsequently increased to £7.71m in January this year and separate additional funding was also approved for the installation of modular classroom units later in 2021 (cost of this is currently being finalised). The first phase of works at Culloden Academy is to address the capacity pressures currently faced by the school. Future capacity issues would need to be addressed by adding additional phases of building works.

Phase 1 comprises the demolition of two vacant houses (now complete), refurbishment of toilets in the main building, a new synthetic playing field, an extension block providing additional practical classrooms and the refurbishment of the vacated accommodation in the main building. The total approved budget for £7.71m is for this first phase of work and this remains on target for completion for 2023. Work is being carried out to review the Capital plan, pupil roll projections and assess the requirements for Highland’s school estate, including Culloden Academy, however, there are no additional funds for Culloden Academy at this time.

The Council has the opportunity to review the budget for the works, and Members will be reviewing the Council’s capital programme in Autumn 2021. This will take into account all of the Council’s capital spend including large scale infrastructure projects and school buildings. The Council has a vast property estate including 203 schools, 11 of which have been identified as priority schools for investment.