During the holidays one of my colleagues visited Eastwood and was able to see the new school in action.  This is one of the first school buildings constructed through the Scottish Futures Trust.  There were many encouragments in seeing how the building is operating.  It also provided the opportunity to pick up ideas for the new EHS building.

The Senior Leadership Team have just had an excellent meeting with a representative of Balfour Beatty, the company who will be constructing the new building.  We were discussing educational opportunities for collaboration during the build period.  These ranged from pupils being involved in the design of particular areas, a time capsule, work experience, apprenticeship opportunties, talks to classes, art work, environmental projects, a time lapse camera and careers talks.  There were ideas for pupils in almost every department to be involved.  Similarly, there will be opportunities for primary schools to share in these projects.  This was an exciting meeting with plenty of possibilities and in time for us to be ready when construction work does begin.

Following a story in the local press, The Moray Council has issued the following statement to keep pupils, parents, staff and the local community up to date with developments:

“It became apparent at an early stage that a start date of March 2014 was highly ambitious and while everyone involved is keen to see construction begin as soon as possible, they are even more keen that the project provides a new secondary school that is fit for purpose and will serve the local community well for years to come.

“Issues have emerged in relation to ground conditions on part of the site which require to be investigated further.

“As a result, possible courses of action include repositioning the new building within the overall site and options for that are currently being examined in detail.

“The cost implications of these options cannot be accurately quantified at this stage but all parties are continuing to work closely in an endeavour to keep the project within budget.

“What can be said with certainty is that although the project is currently showing an overspend on the original budget figure, it is nowhere near £4million.

“The project and the council continue to be fully supported by the Scottish Futures Trust, and the funding for the project is thus secure.”