East Dunbartonshire Council is moving full-steam ahead with plans to build a new £11 million primary school for Bishopbriggs, as the Scottish Government signs off the Council’s decision following a three-month review.

The Scottish Government had requested further information and discussion on the proposal to build one new school for Auchinairn and Woodhill Primary Schools and Cleddens Learning and Childcare Centre on the Woodhill site, following the decision to implement the plans at a meeting of the full Council in January this year.

Council Leader Rhondda Geekie confirmed that the construction of the new school for Bishopbriggs will now get underway. She said: "This is great news and means that we can now move forward to make this fantastic new school and the benefits it brings a reality for the local community. The new school will be due to open in session 2016/17 and will serve a school roll of over 500 primary pupils and over 100 nursery places.

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"Our ambition is to provide the best possible learning environment and education for our young people, unlocking the potential for lifelong opportunities. The new school will undoubtedly do this through provision of more flexible learning spaces that better support the way we teach now, enhanced sports facilities and excellent IT provision to help advance young people's computer skills and learning.

"We have always been confident that this proposal is the right one for these two Bishopbriggs schools and this outcome demonstrates that our confidence has been justified. We welcome the Scottish Government’s endorsement that we followed due process in arriving at this decision and that our rationale is sound.

"I am pleased too that the Government has recognised that the Council has plans in place to ensure the success of the school and that they have, quite rightly, made those commitments a condition of their consent."

In addition to a new primary school, the Council has committed to additional nursery provision in Auchinairn and will be asking people in the area for their views on where this should be in the new school year.

The design and development stage for the new primary school will soon be underway based on the national reference design that was created for the new Lairdsland Primary School.

(CD/IT)