Two interesting days of public consultation took place on Monday and Tuesday.  While the sessions were not busy, those who did attend made some interesting points.  The comments will now be analysed and fed into the development process.  The school holidays start next Friday, so the blog will go quiet for a few weeks.  However, we are expecting to arrange some meetings with the architects and others other the holidays, so more information may follow.  It is also likely that the ground survey will take place soon.  On Tuesday I attended the official opening of the new Elgin Academy.  A good occasion that gave me some ideas for what we can do in August 2015!

It was an excellent day at the Mosstowie Primary School Fete.  There was good support from parents and the local community and success for some of us at the bottle stall!  It was good to meet future EHS pupils as well as current and former pupils!  A number of people took the opportunity to look at the draft plans and there were several very useful conversations raising some important and interesting issues that will be considered as the discussions develop.  If you missed the displays at the primary school fetes, then get along to Moray College on Monday or Tuesday.  The consultation will continue into the evening and in addition to the architects plans, there will also be photographs showing what can be achieved for the access road as it passes Greenwards Primary School.

Page 3 of today’s Press & Journal (Moray edition) had details of the consultations at Moray College on Monday and Tuesday.  There was also an artist’s impression of what the new building might look like from the outside.  However, the display with more pictures and draft plans will be at the Mosstowie Primary School Fete on Saturday – 12pm to 2pm.  See you there – it will be a good day out and all support is much appreciated!

At the start of the week we welcomed next year’s S.1 pupils to the school.  This was part of their transition programme to support the move from Primary to Secondary.  We had a good three days with them and hopefully the time has helped to take away any fears and worries.  On the final afternoon a group of S.4 pupils ran a workshop with one of the classes.  The aim was to find out their hopes for the new building.  The older pupils organised a number of activities.  Perhaps not surprisingly the P7s identified the need for good ventilation and heating as well as corridors that were not crowded.  They also thought that there was no need for everyone to have their own locker.  They are keen that there should be no separate social areas for different year groups – they want to be able to mix with all other pupils.  Bright corridors and rooms are also important.  There were interesting discussions on layout of toilets.  This certainly needs more discussion!  There was no demand for hopscotch markings in the playground – although a tennis court would be welcome!  All this information will be fed into the team working on the design.  One wish was for Wifi in the school grounds – now there is a challenge!  The next consultation is at Mosstowie Primary School Fete on Saturday.

Congratulations to the parents, pupils and staff at New Elgin and Greenwards Primary Schools for running two very successful Fetes.  It was good to see both events well supported.  The bacon roll was delicious!  It was also encouraging to meet many people who took the chance to look at the draft plans for the new build and access to the site.  “Cool” was a frequently used expression by many of the youngsters.  However, there were also some very constructive comments that will need to be thought about as the plans develop.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to stop and complete the consultation forms.  The next opportunities to see the plans will be at Mosstowie Primary School Fete on Saturday 22 June (more bacon rolls and ice cream?) and then in Moray College on 24th and 25th.  This latter venue will be open both during the daytime and into the evening.

Don’t forget that as well as enjoying a good day out at the New Elgin Primary School (10.30 – 12.30) or Greenwards Primary School (11.00 – 14.00) Fetes, you will also be able to see some of the draft plans of the new build and access routes.  Both fetes will have plenty of fun activities and stalls.  Your support will be much appreciated.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Click here to see a possible plan of the site

At the consultation displays the public will be able to see some draft plans of what the site of the new building might evetntually be like.  If you click on the above link you will see a copy of the area of the school.  However, it must be stressed that is simply for illustrative purposes to give people an idea of what may happen and what it might be like.  There is a lot of discussion still be held and changes will follow.  If you would like to make a comment, please send it by the 19th July 2013 to: ehsproject@moray.gov.uk