WORK UNDERWAY AT NEW SCHOOL IN GRANGEMOUTH

Children and young people with additional support needs in the Falkirk area will benefit from a modern new facility thanks to the Scottish Government’s Schools for the Future building programme. Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, Keith Brown, led the sod cutting at the site for the new £9m additional support needs secondary school that will replace Carrongrange. The project is being delivered by hub East Central Scotland for Falkirk Council in partnership with Ogilvie Construction and is part of the Scottish Government’s £1.8billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future building programme. This will see 112 schools replaced or refurbished across Scotland. Mr Brown said: “When complete, this new school will provide state-of-the-art educational accommodation for its pupils and I am pleased to say that the Scottish Government is providing funding of £9m to help make this happen. The total value of the project is £17.6 million. “I am delighted to be in Grangemouth today to help mark the start of the process which will result in a fantastic new school that the whole community can be proud of for many years to come. “I would like to thank Falkirk Council for inviting me to attend the ground breaking ceremony at the site and for its continued commitment to improving its school estate. “This project is part of the Scottish Government’s £1.8billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future building program, which will see 112 schools replaced or refurbished across Scotland. “I wish Falkirk Council and its partners, who will deliver this project, all the best and I look forward to seeing it once it is complete in 2017.” Councillor Alan Nimmo, Falkirk Council’s spokesperson for Education said: “The new school will offer up to 190 pupils a fabulous educational environment in which to learn and will feature many innovative and state of the art facilities. “The whole project has involved working with parents and the wider school community in helping us to get to this stage as well and we look forward to this close co-operation continuing in the future.” Gary Bushnell, Chief Executive, hub East Central Scotland, said: “The development is making excellent progress and our team continues to manage the project to ensure the successful completion of a high quality learning environment, specifically designed to meet the needs of its pupils.” Donald MacDonald, Managing Director, Ogilvie Construction, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnerships with Falkirk Council to complete this development, which will deliver an important educational resource for the community. Our focus is on maintaining the highest standards of quality, service and community engagement throughout the project to the successful completion of the new school next summer.”