The new Dargavel Primary School will be in Dargavel village, a new housing development in Bishopton. The school will be located on Arrochar Drive, just off Barrangary Road in the south section of Dargavel village.

The address of the new school is Arrochar Drive, Bishopton, PA7 5HP, Renfrewshire.

See a map of where the school and nursery will be [237KB]in Dargavel village.

See also:

• information for pupils attending or applying to attend Dargavel Primary School
• travel, childcare and arrangements at the school

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Opening dates and timescales

The school was due to open in August 2021. However, progress on site has been hampered by issues in the construction sector and the school will now open in October 2021.

We know that pupils and parents will be incredibly disappointed, and our staff share in that disappointment.

Image shows progress on school’s exterior

Image shows progress on school’s interior

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Contingency arrangements

All pupils from Dargavel Primary and Bishopton Primary within Bishopton Primary School between August and October 2021. The number of pupils in Bishopton Primary School will be within the maximum limit set by the Scottish Government.

We expect pupils to have staggered lunch and break arrangements to ensure there is space for children to be active. Physical education (PE) will take place outdoors as it does currently. There will also be separate evacuation routes in the event of an emergency.

See the class structures for Dargavel and Bishopton pupils.

Once the school is complete in early October, all Dargavel pupils will move into the new school after the October break.

Moving a school from an existing building into a new building usually takes about a week. We can move furniture, equipment and resources at any time. However, teachers can only set up the classrooms during the school day, which is when they will be teaching pupils.

If we can free up teachers and staff to set up classrooms during the school day, we will do that. We may also ask for additional school closure days to allow teachers time to set up their classrooms.

Dargavel Primary pupils will be taught by a Dargavel teacher, and similarly Bishopton Primary pupils will be taught by a Bishopton teacher.

Information for pupils attending or applying to attend Dargavel Primary School

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Building design and outdoor facilities

The building will have two floors and be able to accommodate 440 pupils. The ground floor will have eight learning spaces and the upper floor will have six, with a modern open space layout to allow class learning and breakout learning.

The ground floor will have a dining hall and a combined assembly and gym hall area.

There will be a multi-use games area and a garden area. The games area will be available for community use and will have flood lighting.

See a plan of the school and grounds  [129KB]

The school is currently being developed by Robertson Construction on behalf of BAE systems.

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Visits to the new school site

Due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions, it is not possible to have site visits at the moment. We will let the parent council know if there can be site visits in the future.

The headteacher will also arrange for parents to visit the school, in line with any coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions in place when it opens.

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Staff recruitment

We are currently . In the meantime, Gerry Carlton, the headteacher for Auchenlodment, will take up the role of headteacher for Dargavel. He will support parents and staff until we recruit a permanent headteacher. We will let you know when the headteacher, teachers and other school staff are appointed.

We have recruited two depute headteachers and are currently recruiting a principal teacher. Dargavel pupils will be involved in the recruitment process.

The link education manager for Dargavel Primary School is Laura McAllister.

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Updates

We will continue to update this webpage with the latest information, including details of site and building works progress. We will also keep the parent council updated and send text messages with links to this information to parents and carers of children who will attend the school.

Other ways to keep up to date:

• see the latest headteacher updates on Bishopton Primary School website
• join the Dargavel Primary School Facebook group.

If you have any queries, please contact the temporary headteacher Gerry Carlton, who will be based at Bishopton Primary. You can email him at dargavelenquiries@renfrewshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 1481.

You can also contact Children’s Services at cssupport@renfrewshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 0170.