Significant progress is being made towards two new secondary schools co-located with Fife College in Dunfermline, according to education chiefs.
Parents, teachers, pupils and local residents could soon have their say on the proposed £180 million super campus which would replace Woodmill High School and St Columba’s RC High School, as it is hoped public consultation will begin soon.
Design briefs are also close to completion for the Dunfermline learning campus, which could form the centrepiece of redevelopment of the mothballed Hyundai site at Halbeath Interchange.
However, Covid-19 restrictions are expected to constrain the type of consultation which will be held, and Fife Council’s education service is investigating how it can proceed.
It is hoped that the campus on 60 acres owned by Shepherd Offshore and the college could be complete by autumn 2024 and senior pupils in particular would benefit from the co-location of the schools and college.
What would be on campus?
It is intended the Dunfermline learning campus, a collaboration by the council and college, would provide a high-quality, low-carbon and digitally-enabled learning environment with streamlined pathways from school to further and higher education.
It would include:
- Two new secondary schools to replace the existing Woodmill and St Columba’s high schools. Combined the schools will accommodate 2,700 pupils and 246 staff.
- A new college campus for 2,500 full-time equivalent students and 350 staff.
- Supporting infrastructure and services, some of them shared by the schools and college.
- A wider proposed development, including 450 homes, a 90-bed care home, a nursery and commerce.
Masterplan
Head of education and children’s services Shelagh McLean said great strides had been taken towards development of the campus.
She said: “We are getting close to having the finalised design briefs for each element of the proposed campus, the college and the two schools.”
A masterplan for the wider site was submitted with an application for planning permission in principle in December by Shepherds Offshore.
…we would be hoping to move towards statutory consultation in relation to the development of the two schools fairly soon.”
Shelagh McLean, Fife Council
She said: “That’s quite a significant step forward in the development of the whole approach.
“What that means is that we would be hoping to move towards statutory consultation in relation to the development of the two schools fairly soon.
“We are working very closely with the Scottish Government and our colleagues in legal services to determine how we might approach that given the current restrictions we have in relation to Covid.”
Design
Updating the council’s education and children’s service committee, she said: “A lot of work has been undertaken with the two schools to look at what that design brief would be and what the two schools need moving forward.”
More details and confirmation on whether and how consultation can begin are expected to given when the committee next meets on March 16.
Once designs and the public consultation process are complete, the council will submit detailed planning applications for the schools.
Scottish Government funding announced for the replacement of Inverkeithing High School, likely to be in Rosyth, and for the learning campus together with council funding already set aside would allow all three schools to be built, Mrs McLean said.
Existing schools
Both St Columba’s RC High School and Woodmill High School are considered to be of poor condition and a priority for replacement as part of the Building Fife’s Future project.
A blaze in August 2019 destroyed much of Woodmill High School and the school only welcomed back the last of its decanted pupils in October.
Substantial repairs and rebuilding work were necessary, but much of the new accommodation is temporary modular units.
