A major construction project will get underway at a leading independent school in Aberdeen during the Easter holidays.
St Margaret’s School for Girls on the city’s Albyn Place is in line for an expansion of its science block to contain five laboratories, as well as three new classrooms and refurbished art, drama, learning support and social science facilities.
It is planned that the science facility will be fully operational by January next year, allowing for the current labs to be completely renovated to provide new drama and art studios.
The project – overseen by Aberdeen-based architects Halliday Fraser Munro – will be the biggest development at the school since the extension of its music department in 1995.
Head teacher Anna Tomlinson said her team hoped the new labs would encourage more pupils to take up science as a career.
She said: “Just last week the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development published the results of international research into the low uptake by girls of the sciences and maths.
“This study concluded, rather unsurprisingly, that the issue is one of confidence.
“This is something we are particularly aware of at St Margaret’s, and our experience is that being taught in an all girls’ environment can increase that confidence.
“We are thrilled to invest in our science facilities in the coming months.”
St Margaret’s is due to celebrate its 170th anniversary last year.
Chairman of the school council Jim Gifford said that by embracing innovation, it aimed to boost its appeal to prospective parents.
He said: “As with all independent schools, we are operating in an ever-competitive arena, and it is important that the school embraces this in order to remain at the forefront of education in Aberdeen.
“The school council identified a need for improvements at the school, particularly in the west wing, and these new classrooms will be the first phase of what we hope will be a major re-development for the school over the coming months and years.”