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Image of the completed St Nicholas' School in Scotland, with grey cladding to the top and brickwork to the bottom

Morgan Sindall Construction hands over £10m St. Nicholas' Primary

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A new £10 million primary school in Bearsden, Scotland, has been handed over by Morgan Sindall Construction.

The school, designed for 450 pupils, has enabled the co-location of two former schools which were in need of modernisation.

It has been built on the site of what was St Andrew’s Primary, replacing it, and allowing pupils from the former St Joseph’s Primary, in nearby Milngavie, to be taught on the same site.

Children, staff and parents were given a chance to name the new school, opting for St Nicholas’ Primary.

The project has been delivered ahead of schedule by Morgan Sindall, appointed to the project by hub West Scotland for long-standing customer, East Dunbartonshire Council.

It is the fifth school to be built through the Council’s Primary School Improvement Programme (PSIP), which is modernising education provision in the region.

Morgan Sindall has built four of these schools to date, including the exemplar project, Lairdsland Primary School, which has won multiple awards and now serves as the design template for subsequent schools.

St Nicholas’ Primary features one main 32,000 sq ft building, comprising 17 flexible and open classrooms, designed without doors to encourage collaboration.

It also offers landscaped outdoor learning areas, play areas and a 3G synthetic pitch. There are dedicated spaces for art, science and display throughout the school, all benefitting from the latest technology.

A 3,400 sq ft hall has been designed with a retractable screen, allowing it to be divided if necessary. There is also a small roof terrace for outdoor teaching.

During the construction process, Morgan Sindall’s site team invited pupils on tours to see how the new school was shaping up.

The project supported eight local apprentices, and students from nearby Bearsden Academy were given careers talks and work placements, with a view to encouraging them to consider construction as a career path.

Stuart Parker, Morgan Sindall’s managing director for Scotland, said: “We’re incredibly pleased to complete this important project for the Council and it’s particularly gratifying to hand it over early.
“It’s once again been great to work through hub West Scotland, which has enabled everyone involved to collaborate from day one.
“The other schools we’ve built under the Council’s improvement programme have been universally well-received. I’m confident St Nicholas’ will be no different, and will prove an enduring addition to the education offering in East Dunbartonshire for years to come.”
Iain Marley, CEO at hub West Scotland, said: “hub West Scotland is proud to have been trusted to deliver St Nicholas’ Primary and we are thrilled that the project has been completed ahead of schedule.
“The investment has created a high-quality, inspiring and flexible environment that evidences the Council’s commitment to improving the learning experience for all pupils.
“Our thanks and congratulations go to the East Dunbartonshire team, to our partners Morgan Sindall and Holmes Miller Architects, and the wider design team for their fantastic performance.”
East Dunbartonshire Council Joint Leader, Vaughan Moody, said: “The children coming to St Nicholas’ in August will be educated in a building with all modern facilities, designed specifically to deliver Curriculum for Excellence. Our thanks to Morgan Sindall for delivering the school to the Council in good time – allowing teachers and other Council teams to get ready over the summer for the new term.”
East Dunbartonshire Council Joint Leader Andrew Polson, added: “When the children join together in the fantastic new building, I am sure that they will settle in quickly. They have worked together to choose the school name, uniform and the badge so now they will have the opportunity to grow as one school community under one roof.”