Dundee will boast some of Scotland’s finest schools by the close of 2016/17, the city’s education convener has confidently predicted.
Councillor Stewart Hunter told The Courier that the opening of the new Harris Academy in August will be just one part of an overhaul of learning.
Other new schools will follow, with work on the £25 million Baldragon Academy about to start after a series of delays.
It will become home to 1,100 pupils as part of a three-tier shared campus including the relocated Sidlaw View Primary School and Jessie Porter Nursery School.
Menzieshill Primary and Nursery will also take shape in the months to come and significant investment will continue to be made in existing schools.
Mr Hunter said: “It is an exciting time for education in the city.”
“The new Harris Academy will be open later this year and I think it will be one of the best school buildings in Scotland.
“The school’s parent council has been able to see the progress being made and I think it is fair to say that they were gobsmacked.
“It will be a fantastic place to learn for the children and while there is still a lot of work to do, things are going as well as could be expected.
“There are also plans for a new school and important community facilities at Coldside and we have agreed proposals for another new build in the north east.”
Mr Hunter added: “I think that if you look at the last 15 years then the improvement in the school estate has been huge.
“There is still work to be done at a number of our school buildings which though good do have their restrictions but we will be working to improve them.
“We want there to be a high quality of facilities available to all the pupils and staff in the city and we are continuing to work hard to improve our school estate.”
The councillor accepted that not all improvements could be made at once and that the council would have to look at funding over the next five to 10 years.