Parents given assurance over safety at £10m new school site

The council says special care will be taken during construction, as St Andrew’s will continue to function immediately beside the building site as the new school takes shape.

To be built at St Andrew’s Primary in Bearsden the scheme will see St Andrew’s merge with Milngavie’s St Joeph’s Primary, and will accomodate 450 children.

Work is due to start over the Easter break, and the school is planned to open after next year’s summer holidays in August.

Parents and carers have been issued a leaflet to let them know what to expect, and a further letter will be issued before the school breaks for Easter.

It will explain that the construction plan which will be done in two phases.

The first runs until the start of next year’s summer holidays, and the second will run until February 2019.

Builders will demolish the old St Andrew’s building, carry out landscaping, and create the new school’s pitch and play areas.

When complete, this will be the fifth school to be built as part of the council’s primary school improvement programme.

The others are Lairdsland and Holy Trinity primary schools in Kirkintilloch, Lenzie Meadow in Lenzie and Thomas Muir primary in Bishopbriggs.

Council buildings depute chief executive Thomas Glen said: “This is an exciting time for education in East Dunbartonshire.

“With this new school getting underway pupils and staff can look forward to working and learning in an educational environment fit for the challenges of Curriculum for Excellence.”

“The response to the modern, bright, well-equipped and well-resourced buildings that have been delivered so far has been excellent, and I can’t wait to see this new £10m school in Bearsden.”