Proposals to relocate an Aberdeenshire special needs school to a new £54million community campus will be unveiled at a public consultation early next year.
Members of the region’s education committee convened yesterday to consider the controversial issue of rehousing St Andrew’s School in Inverurie.
As part of the plans for the multimillion-pound campus – which will be constructed on playing fields at the current academy site – the council is committed to creating a bespoke facility.
St Andrew’s would have separate classrooms, therapy suites, toilets and changing facilities. Pupils will also have their own entrance to the building.
Parents have been informally consulted already while Aberdeenshire Council developed the plans. And now, councillors from the education committee have approved a statutory consultation to run early next year.
The responses will shape the future of the school and Councillor Alison Evison, chairwoman of the committee, said: “The proposal to relocate St Andrew’s to the new campus is a very exciting one which could, if accepted, deliver purpose-built and much enhanced facilities for pupils and staff at the current school.
“Parents and staff have already been involved in the development of these plans and the next steps are for the council to carry out a legally-required formal consultation to gather more views.”
Vice-chairman Charles Buchan added: “What the council is aiming to do is strike the right balance between St Andrew’s pupils having their own space in which to thrive, while at the same time promoting access and opportunities with their peers at Inverurie Academy.”
Work on the new Inverurie Community Campus is expected to begin in early 2018 with the site open to pupils and the public by mid-2020.
The St Andrew’s School consultation will run from Monday, January 9 until Friday, February 24 next year.
A public meeting will be held during the process and the results will be discussed by the Garioch area committee in the spring.
A final decision on the future of the school will be taken next summer.