Meet the former Braeview Academy pupil helping to build his school’s replacement

As a schoolboy Kieran Symington loved crafting objects in Braeview Academy’s woodwork department.

Little did he know, however, that he was developing skills he would later put to use in creating his school’s replacement.

Kieran, 20, is one of 39 apprentices employed in building the new Greenfield Academy.

In August the secondary school will replace Braeview Academy and Craigie High School.

From woodwork at Braeview to Greenfield joinery

Kieran, from Whitfield, left Braeview Academy in 2021 and began an apprenticeship programme at Dundee and Angus College.

Dundee City Council had only just approved the merging of his school with Craigie High.

He later began a joinery apprenticeship with WBS Keillor, a joinery and fit-out contractor involved with Greenfield Academy construction.

Since December, he’s been working on-site at Drumgeith Community Campus, which the school is part of.

He says it is quite an experience helping to build the school for kids from the same area of the city he grew up in.

“It’s weird to see how modern this new one is compared to the old one. It’s so nice and bright whereas the old one is pretty dull,” he says.

Greenfield Academy ‘colossal’ compared to Braeview

“And Braeview was small compared to this. This school is colossal.”

He reckons pupils will be excited to see the finished result when the new academic year begins in August.

“It’s a big change, but it’s a good change.”

Whether it’s fitting doors or fixing struttings, Kieran says working on the new Greenfield Academy is propelling him towards becoming a time-served joiner.

“Sometimes I might be doing the same thing for weeks on end, so I get to learn how to do it properly and get good practice at it.”

Greenfield Academy construction

Kieran’s employer is a contractor hired by Robertson Construction Tayside for the £100 million campus development.

As well as housing Greenfield Academy, Drumgeith Community Campus will be open for community use.

It will have a library, leisure and sports facilities and space for music and performing arts.

The campus – with a massive 20,000 square metres of floorspace – is being built according to Passivhaus designs. This includes thermal insulation, airtightness and ventilation systems with heat recovery, making it highly energy efficient.

Robertson Construction Tayside says it remains on schedule to complete the building in July 2025, ready for pupils’ arrival in August.

It began working on the project in June 2023 and says it has supported 112 jobs and created 20 new ones, in addition to hosting 39 apprentices like Kieran.

The construction firm says it has focused on local investment, spending almost £50 million in the supply chain within 40 miles.