Pioneering Acharacle School Attracts Interest from Afar

The staff and pupils of Acharacle Primary School, Lochaber, are attracting nationwide interest in their state of the art timber school, which is taking shape and should open early in the new year.

Representatives of local authorities, architects, structural engineers, Scottish Enterprise as well as private individuals and sawmillers from across Scotland, visited the school last week to inspect the pioneering technology used in Scotland’s first wholly sustainable school.

The school, which has 28 English Medium and 24 Gaelic Medium pupils as well as 14 nursery pupils,  also received a visit from The Highland Council Convener Sandy Park, Leader of the Council’s Administration, Councillor Michael Foxley, and Council Chief Executive, Alistair Dodds, who were impressed with the progress being made on the £5.8 million project.

The school will be so well insulated and draught-proof (‘air-tight’) that the heat from the children, staff and computers is enough to heat the building. All internal materials are natural, i.e. untreated timber, linoleum, clay plaster and vegetable-based paints.

The structure of the building (walls and roofs) is made from ‘Brettstapel’ - a form of glue-free massive timber construction. The use of one tonne of this material is the equivalent of taking a car off the road for nearly five months. Brettstapel is used as the internal finish for many parts of the school. Being wood, it is warm to the senses. Classroom and hall ceilings have an ‘acoustic profile’ to improve the acoustic performance of these rooms.

Most of the school is made from wood: the structure is solid wood, the insulation is wood, and the building will be clad in durable European larch. There is a wind turbine on the hill behind the school to provide hot water for classrooms and toilets.

Rainwater is being collected from the copper roofs and will be used to flush the toilets. Electricity consumption will be significantly reduced through the use of large triple-glazed windows for daylighting, and by using very energy efficient appliances.

The school will be painted in carefully selected colours to stimulate learning, social interaction and wellbeing.

Councillor Park said: “This is a landmark and exciting development, which demonstrates our commitment to creating a greener and sustainable Highland Council. This project has already helped to inform our sustainability design agenda and is attracting considerable interest nationally. I look forward to seeing the school completed early next year and wish both the school and the community every success in the future.”

Head Teacher, Mrs Lyndsay Bradley, said: “The whole community is delighted that the new school is taking shape.  It is fantastic that we will soon have our amazing new building.”

The contract has been awarded in two parts.  The structural frame will be manufactured and erected by Sohm Holzbautechnik GmbH of Austria while all the infrastructure works and mechanical and electrical installations are being undertaken by MacGregor Construction.

The new school will have five classrooms, one of which is for shared community use, a nursery, a multi-purpose hall, separate dining facility, music practice rooms, changing rooms for both school and community use when the new community playing field is ready, an entrance foyer that that can be used as an extension of the school facilities and small community gatherings.

Once the school opens, the timber temporary structures of the old school will be demolished. Discussions are underway to convert the remaining stone Victorian building into housing. Because of the strong links the community has with traditional music, talks with ‘Feis nan Garbh Chriochan” has resulted in providing an office for their local use and funding bids  to upgrade the hall.