Purchase of land for the new Madras College is expected to be agreed on Thursday, with Fife Council ready to start building it.
Councillors will be asked to authorise an exchange with St Andrews University which will allow construction of the new secondary school to commence.
In return for the Langlands site, Fife Council will hand over Madras College’s South Street building to the university.
It will also pay £2.5 million as a contribution towards construction of the access road.
Until the £50m new school is ready for staff and pupils — expected to be before the 2021 summer holidays — the council will lease the South Street campus from the university at a nominal rent.
At Thursday’s meeting of the full Fife Council, the authority’s chief officers will request permission from councillors to proceed with the purchase and disposal on the basis of an option agreement struck earlier.
Consent would normally have been given by the assets, property and facilities committee but waiting until its next meeting in August would have delayed construction, causing the completion target date to be missed and possibly pushing up the cost of the new school.
In his report to the council, Ken Gourlay, head of assets, transportation and environment, said: “Positive discussions with the university have been ongoing throughout the process and these are now sufficiently advanced to enable the council to proceed with the acquisition of the site for the new school at Langlands, per the terms of the option agreed with the university.
“As it is hoped to complete all the conditions relating to the option agreement and the council are ready to commence construction of the new school it is considered appropriate to now trigger the option agreement.”
Work began last year on the link road to the school from the A91, which will also lead to the St Andrews West expansion.
Planning permission for the school was given in January.
The three-storey building will accommodate up to 1,450 pupils, capable of extension as new housing is built in the town and surrounding area.
Local councillors and North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie, welcomed the impending “final piece in the jigsaw”.
St Andrews councillor Jane Ann Liston said: “At long last! St Andrews and the rest of the catchment has waited far too long for this new school.
“Now let’s get on with it and make it a school to be really proud of.”
Councillor Tim Brett, whose Tay Bridgehead ward is in the catchment area, said: “Now St Andrews will have a high quality building to match our education services at the college.”
Their Liberal Democrat colleague Mr Rennie said: “We have been waiting for what seems like an age to get this new school.
“The approval will bring a huge sigh of relief across St Andrews and north-east Fife.”
