A 'topping out' ceremony has marked a significant stage in the construction of the new South West Fife secondary school, a £88 million project that will replace the existing Inverkeithing High School. The event took place on Friday, 21 March 2025, at the site of the new school.

Pupils from the area joined Fife Council's Education Spokesperson, Councillor Cara Hilton, and other councillors to lay a cement plinth, symbolising the building reaching its highest structural point.

Councillor Cara Hilton expressed her satisfaction with the progress of the project: "It's great to be here today and see how far the new school has come in only a few months." She highlighted the council's commitment to upgrading educational facilities across the region: "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 commenced site preparation in the summer of 2024, with the construction of the school building itself beginning last autumn. The new three-storey school, located on the former Rosyth Fleet Grounds, will have a capacity for over 1700 pupils and will feature an open-plan design similar to other recently built schools in the area.

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Fife Council is collaborating with the Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust to deliver the project, which is being procured and managed by hub East Central Scotland.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth acknowledged the importance of the milestone: "This is an 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."

She also highlighted the Scottish Government's ongoing investment in school infrastructure: "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, emphasised the collaborative nature of the project: "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 of hub East Central Scotland, commented on the progress made: "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."