New £12 million Aviemore School nears completion

The new £11.9 million Aviemore Primary School and Community Centre will be completed and handed over on July 9 in time for the new school term, the contractor has confirmed.

GRAHAM Construction has been working on the state-of-the-art facility since March 2011.

The development of this community primary school is the first of its kind in the Highlands and has been designed with a focus on sustainability, achieving a ‘very good’ Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) rating.

The school facilities will include 10 primary classrooms, two general purpose classrooms and a resources area, a main hall, pre-school education and childcare facilities with independent access, assisted support needs facilities, multi-purpose sports hall,  kitchen and dining facilities, support for learning unit, biomass boiler and a fenced sports pitch.

The complex will also feature a range of community facilities including a community library, service point, meeting room, fitness suite, sports changing facilities and two multi-purpose activity rooms.

As part of the overall operational management of the new community facilities, a management agreement has been established between Aviemore Community Centre Company and the Council’s Education, Culture and Sport Service.

Aviemore Community Children's Group will provide pre-school education and childcare within the new building and will continue to operate out of Aviemore Village Hall until the new facilities are completed.

The development has been designed by the Council’s Housing and Property Service on behalf of the Education, Culture and Sport Service.

Gary Holmes, contracts director at GRAHAM Construction, said: “The GRAHAM team has worked tremendously hard to get to this stage and we are pulling out all the stops to ensure the project is completed to the highest standards.
“Clearly, the new school session commences in August and we are pleased to confirm that construction work will be completed during the summer holiday and will be handed over to The Highland Council in July.

“We are confident the fantastic new Aviemore Community School be warmly welcomed by parents, pupils and staff, as well as providing a stunning civic amenity for the wider community.”

Head Teacher, Rona Smith, Deputy Head Wendy Holton and pupils from the school’s Pupil Council were invited on a tour of the school to see how work is progressing. Rona Smith said:  “It is going to be such a fantastic school.  During the tour we were able to have a good look around and it was great to watch the children’s reaction to the space, facilities and layout of the building.  They were particularly impressed when they walked around one of the completed classrooms and saw the library and games hall.  The whole school is very excited and looking forward to moving in.”