Building for Learning PPP Project

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Project Outline

The Moray Council has signed an agreement with IPP (Moray Schools) Ltd to design and build replacement schools for Elgin Academy and Keith Primary School and to maintain these schools until 2042.

IPP (Moray Schools) Ltd is a non-profit distributing company, and the contract is supported by the Scottish Government with assistance from the Scottish Futures Trust.

Elgin Academy is a six year secondary school with a current (September 2010) roll of 1,023 pupils. It is proposed to replace this school with a new school with enhanced community facilities, on the current site at Morriston Drive, Elgin. The existing school will then be demolished and playing fields constructed.

Keith Primary School is a primary school currently operating on split sites a short distance apart. The current roll is 311 pupils, and it is proposed to replace the current buildings with a single school incorporating nursery provision on the current north site, adjacent to Keith Grammar School, and subsequently demolish the existing school buildings and former dining hall on the site. The current south site, with its existing building, will be retained for separate disposal by the Council.

Latest News

Project Update – 15 November 2011 

The construction of the new schools is now moving into the completion phase, with Keith Primary School expected to be handed over on 28 November 2011 (4 weeks later than intended) and Elgin Academy due on 26 February 2012.  The completion of work on the buildings has to be matched by preparations by the schools themselves so that they are ready to move into the new facilities.  Much planning is being done to make sure that the transition to new schools is as smooth as may be.

Keith Primary School

• Construction work is now being completed and inspection and testing is under way.  The west end of the school (the Yellow area, including nursery and early years classrooms, the library, staff room and administration offices) was inspected last week and a list of minor remedial items compiled.  The east end of the school (the Blue area, including the dining area and classrooms for P4-7) is being inspected this week, and the central area (including the kitchen, hall, main foyer and the Green area with ASN classrooms) together with all external work and landscaping will be inspected next week.  The lists of remedial items will be checked again on 28 November when the handover inspection is carried out and all items not attended to at that time will be included on the Snagging List of items, and these have to be completed within 4 weeks or to an agreed programme.
• School staff have been to view their new school at different times during the construction, but can now see the completed rooms with all furniture in place.  This helps them to visualise how they will be able to work in the new school, and plan where to store all their teaching resources.  Staff have been packing boxes for some time, and parents have helped out with that task.  Many of the boxes have been taken across to the new school and teachers have to unpack the boxes and put everything away on shelves in the classrooms and other storage areas.  The school has received approval from Scottish Ministers for Additional Closure Days to allow the last of the resources and equipment to be moved out of the old school and into the new.
• The School has written to parents to tell them how the transition to the new schools is being organised.  If handover takes place on 28 November, pupils will be taken across over 2 days to see their new classrooms and see where toilets are, where they will line up to come into the school when the bell goes, and let them play in the new playground.  They will also get a meal in their new dining hall (with the kitchen staff using their new equipment).  The school will then close from Friday 2 December until Tuesday 6 December, and pupils will report to the temporary buildings as usual on Wednesday 7 December and will then process up to the new school.  There will be an Opening Ceremony in the New Year when the school will be formally opened by the Convenor of the Council.
• All staff who will be working in the new school, teachers, other staff, kitchen staff, cleaners and janitors have to be trained how to use some of the equipment and innovative features in the new school.  A School Guide has been prepared to help them understand how the school works including how to report any faults.  A Travel Plan has also been developed in partnership with Keith Grammar School and Keith Sports and Community Centre to promote active travel to school and pupil safety on their journey to school, and a leaflet has been distributed to parents and local residents showing designated walking and cycling routes, and locations of car parking and drop-off areas.

Elgin Academy

• Construction is in full swing now with the courtyard area being completed so the area can be closed off.  Render to the outside of the building is now being progressed to completion, and the external areas at the Morriston Road elevation are being made ready for completion.  This has unfortunately meant that onsite parking for workers vehicles is now very limited, and this is having an impact on local roads.  The contractor has provided some traffic cones to preserve entrances to driveways and has reminded all site workers of the need to park with consideration but there is inevitably an increase in congestion.
• Inside the building all cabling and wiring is being done in classrooms ahead of decoration, doors and frames, suspended ceilings and floor finishes.  Temporary heating is being provided through the underfloor heating system and hot air heating to ensure that the building is at a suitable temperature and humidity for the finishing trades.
• Planning has also started on the transition to the new school, and all staff at the school have now had the opportunity to visit the new school, and further visits will be arranged as work proceeds.  We will shortly be arranging a meeting with the contractor who will help to move all the boxes of teaching resources and other equipment from the old school to the new.  While this process is similar to that being done at Keith, the scale is of course much greater.  
• Work has also commenced on developing a Travel Plan for the school, and this will include a representative from Bishopmill Primary School who are in close adjacency to the new Academy.

In view of the delay to work at Keith there is keen interest in the progress of work at Elgin to ensure that handover takes place on the target date of 26 February 2012, and the contractors programme is being closely scrutinised.

You can view progress photographs showing work being done on the schools by clicking on the photo links at the left of this page.

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