RESPONDING TO the Audit Scotland report on Scotland’s schools, Perth and Kinross Council said it has “a clear vision for its school estate, to ensure that the facilities it provides meet the needs of pupils, staff and communities both now and in the future.”

Much work has gone into the council’s strategy to plan and prioritise works required to improve and enhance school buildings.

A major part of the strategy is the £136 million Investment in Learning Programme, which will deliver six new community campuses in locations across Perth and Kinross.

The new schools will have twice the space of those they replace, helping provide a better environment for learning and teaching.

They have also been designed with expansion in mind, taking into account projected population growth.

Environmental sustainability has been a key concern for the council, and a range of measures will be put in place including biomass boilers at three of the campuses, in conjunction with gas back-up, at Aberfeldy, Blairgowrie and Crieff to provide heating and hot water through green energy generation.

These will support the equivalent of 15 full- time jobs and remove 620 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere.

The other three campuses will have gas boilers with the infrastructure to allow biomass to be installed in the future.

Carbon emission levels will either meet or be lower than national standards and underfloor heating will be fitted at all the campuses.

Work has recently been completed on Fairview, the new Additional Support Needs school in Perth that will replace Glebe and Cherrybank schools.

Upgrading work continues at Dunning and Errol primary schools, while the development of plans for new primary schools in Invergowrie and Crieff and upgrading works at other schools is in hand.

The council’s convener of life-long learning, Liz Grant, said, “We want to provide a 21st century learning and teaching environment in our schools that truly can deliver lifelong learning for all, and to achieve this we have been working very hard to put in place an effective school estate strategy.

“We have paid careful attention to sustainability, future expansion and community needs, and now the benefits of the work on our strategy are starting to come to fruition with progress on the Investment in Learning Programme and improvements at other schools throughout Perth and Kinross.”