Work began on a new £13million primary school in Aberdeen yesterday.
Education convener Angela Taylor performed the special sod-cutting ceremony at the site of the former Bankhead Academy which was gutted by fire in 2012.
The new Stoneywood Primary School is due for completion by Easter next year.
Funding for the school was allocated by the city council’s five-year capital programme following a public consultation.
The facility will house the 434 pupils currently attending the existing Stoneywood School and will also house a nursery.
Ms Taylor said the new school would be a key part of the Labour-led administration’s education programme.
She said: “This is another fantastic milestone in our £145 million capital investment in education.
“Only the other week we saw the opening of £5 million Greenbrae School extension and saw at first-hand how delighted and proud the children and staff are with their new state-of-the-art facilities.
“I’m sure that when the pupils at Stoneywood see their new school they will be just as enthusiastic as will the pupils attending the new Lochside Academy and the Centre of Excellence in the north of the city.”
Lindsay Cowan, contracts manager at builders Morgan Sindall, said the firm had been “incredibly pleased” to have been
chosen for the multi-million pound work.
She said: “This is an important project for the people of Aberdeen. We’re incredibly pleased to have been selected by the
Council to help realise its plan of delivering invaluable additional primary school places and it’s great to get work under way.
“The new school will feature notable sustainable elements and modern fit-for-purpose classrooms; we’re confident it will be an enduring addition to the education offering in the area, and well received by pupils and staff alike.”