Major Milestone Reached for new South West Fife high school

A ‘topping out’ ceremony took place today (Friday 21 March 2025), at the site for the new South West Fife secondary school, marking a major milestone for the project. Once complete, this new school will replace Inverkeithing High School.

Pupils helped Fife Council’s Education Spokesperson, Cllr Cara Hilton and councillors lay a cement plinth commemorating the school building reaching its highest point. 

Cllr Cara Hilton said: “It’s great to be here today and see how far the new school has come in only a few months.  
“We're getting closer to replacing Inverkeithing High School - this is part of the Council's plan to renew all secondary schools. For this new school, we're investing £88 million and the Scottish Government are providing revenue funding support. 
"We want to give Fife's young people the best places to learn. The new South West Fife secondary school is a great opportunity to help students and the community now and in the future." 

BAM Construction began preparing the site in Summer 2024 and moved on to constructing the school building last Autumn.  

The £88m school, being built on the former Rosyth Fleet Grounds, will have capacity to accommodate over 1700 pupils, over three floors, with an open see and be seen approach throughout the school, similar to our other new schools. 

Fife Council is working in partnership with The Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust to create a replacement for Inverkeithing High School. The project is procured and managed for Fife Council by hub East Central Scotland. 

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “This in important milestone for the South West Fife High School project, which will be supported by £39.5 million Scottish Government funding. I look forward to seeing progress on the modern, state-of-the-art learning environments for pupils and also the range of facilities it will provide for the whole community.
“In collaboration with local authorities, the Scottish Government is continuing to invest in schools through the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme, with over £92 million of our funding allocated to support projects in the broader Fife Council area. Thanks to our direct investment, since 2007, the number of schools in ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ conditions has increased from 61% to almost 92%.”

Stephen Long who leads the Learning Estate Infrastructure team at the Scottish Futures Trust, said: “We are pleased to have worked collaboratively with Fife Council and the delivery partners on the development of this project as part of the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP). By managing the Programme, this allows us to continually share knowledge and best practice between LEIP projects, both in Fife and across the whole of Scotland, which have helped to inform this ambitious but efficient design.” 

Gary Bushnell, Chief Executive, hub East Central Scotland said: “The topping out today marks the excellent progress that has been made on the project since ground was broken on site last summer. We look forward to managing the delivery of another high-quality school for Fife Council that will provide a state-of-the-art learning environment for young people when it opens next year.” 

The new school will open its doors to pupils in August 2026