Work Starts on New Portree High School
Work began today (Tuesday) on the eagerly-awaited £25 million new Portree High School.
The Highland Council’s Skye and Lochalsh Area Convener, Councillor Drew Millar was joined by Portree High School first year pupils, Lucy Carpenter and Seumas Maclean, in cutting the first turfs on the site of the replacement school. Also present were Head Girl, Grace Matheson, and Head Boy, Alan Palmer.
The new school is scheduled to be completed and open by May 2008, with the playing fields ready by September 2009.
The new school will feature:-
a range of classrooms for both general and specialist teaching;
a four court games hall, gymnasium, fitness room, all weather pitch and multi court area, and a climbing wall;
swimming pool with floating floor, heated by a geothermal heat pump;
public library, heritage centre, learning centre for school and community use, including access to a crèche and video conferencing facilities;
performance venue with bleacher seating;
Councillor Millar said: "This is a hugely significant day for the school and wider community in Skye. We have been campaigning for a new school for many years and I am absolutely delighted that all the hard work that has gone into the planning of the magnificent new community school has been rewarded with this ceremony today. The new school will not only benefit our staff and pupils but the wider community through the excellent community facilities, such as the swimming pool, public library, performance area and sports facilities."
Councillor Andy Anderson, Chairman of the Education Culture and Sport Committee, said: "Portree High School is a flagship project for the Council, incorporating the full range of leisure and arts facilities that will make it a focal point of the community. Pupils deserve to receive their education in surroundings that match the quality of the teaching provided by our staff."
John Howieson, head teacher of the 700-pupil school, welcomed guests to the turf cutting ceremony. He said: "This is a memorable day for Portree High and the wider community, who will benefit greatly from what promises to be an excellent community facility. Experience from other areas has shown the overwhelmingly positive effect that new accommodation has on the morale of pupils and of staff. I very much welcome that prospect for our whole school community."
In the PPP2 Initiative, new secondary schools are being built at Dingwall Academy, Kinlochleven High School and Millburn Academy, Inverness. Also in the programme is the construction of a new school for pupils with additional support needs in Inverness; the new primary school at Inshes, Inverness, a new purpose built primary school for Gaelic pupils at Inverness, as well as new primary schools at Kinlochleven, Resolis (Cullicudden and Newhall amalgamation), Culbokie and Cawdor.
The 11 schools are being built by Alpha Schools (Highland) Ltd, a consortium of Morrison PLC and Noble Fund Managers.
Gordon Milne, Operations Manager, Morrison Construction, said: "We’re great advocates of the collaborative and long-term nature of PPP projects which we believe brings significant mutual benefits. We look forward to working alongside The Highland Council to completion of the schools and their ongoing maintenance."