New Inverness Royal Academy moves to next phase.

The Highland Council has taken another step forward in the replacement of Inverness Royal Academy with a new school under the Scottish Schools for the Future (SSF) programme which is managed on behalf of the Scottish Government by Scottish Futures Trust (SFT).

Members of the Council’s Adult and Children’s Services Committee today agreed a series of recommendations that will allow the new £33.98M school project to progress towards construction commencing in Spring 2014.

The Scottish Government will provide funding equivalent to a Capital contribution of £16.67M, with the Council providing the remaining £17.31M Capital funding.

The recommendations approved by members included their support that the initial school design will include:

Councillor Alasdair Christie, Chairman of the Council’s Adult and Children’s Services Committee said: “This another key step in the process of providing a much needed new facility for Inverness Royal Academy pupils and the local community. A new sustainable and energy efficient state of the art building will enable us to provide great educational and community facilities. It is also good news for the construction industry.”

To meet the Scotland’s Schools for the Future’s requirement that local authorities work in collaboration, members agreed that The Highland Council will work with the five other local authorities in the SFT Northern Territory Area including Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils; Argyll and Bute Council; Moray Council and the Shetland Islands Council.