Historic Moment for Redwell Primary
Published on:
21
June 2013
The first sod, to mark the start of the building of the new £8.32 million Redwell Primary School at Alloa West, was officially cut on Thursday.
The historic ceremony was performed by Clackmannanshire Council's Education Convener, Councillor Ellen Forson.
Councillor Forson was joined at the ceremony by pupils from both Claremont Primary and St John's, as well as the respective head teachers and the construction and design team.
Councillor Forson said: "This was a wonderful moment for everyone concerned in finally reaching this stage. It is a major step to what in just over a year from now will provide Clackmannanshire with an outstanding educational establishment. I am honoured and privileged to have cut the first sod on this historic occasion."
The new school will create a 21st century learning environment which will house pupils from the current St John's and Claremont Primary Schools.
The council was allocated funding of £4.05 million from the Scottish Government Schools for the Future programme for the new building.
Education Secretary Michael Russell said: "This is an exciting moment for the pupils that will become part of the Redwell Primary School population and an excellent example of a council working to develop their school estates.
"This school forms part of the Scottish Government's work to replace or refurbish 67 schools through the £1.25 billion Scotland's Schools for the Future programme. By working alongside local authorities we will lift tens of thousands of pupils into top quality accommodation, helping ensure that our children and young people have the best possible start in life."
Robertson Construction Limited were selected as the main building contractor to deliver the project on behalf of designers Hub East Central Scotland Limited.
Derek Shewan, managing director for Robertson Construction Group, said: "Work is now officially getting underway at Redwell Primary - a project we are proud to be working on in partnership with Clackmannanshire Council.
"We will deliver a project which will affect the lives of many of the region's young people and will serve the west of Alloa for many years to come.
"As part of our delivery of the new school, we are also looking forward to creating training and career opportunities for local people - further evidence of the new school's long-lasting impact on the community."
Neil McCormick, Chief Executive, hub East Central Scotland said: "This major investment in local authority services is the latest project in a £500million hub programme to build sustainable community-based facilities across Forth Valley, Fife and Tayside.
"The long-term nature of the programme will help provide a range of business, employment and training opportunities for local organisations through a structured and measured approach to local community benefits planning. "
Along with lead contractor Robertson's Construction, other's involved are architects Keppie Design, civil and the structural engineers Blyth & Blyth and mechanical and electrical engineers Wallace Whittle.
There will be 18 classrooms in the modern energy-efficient building, which will be sufficient to accommodate the projected roll of 434 pupils when the school is due to open its doors for the first time in August 2014. This will also meet the projected future increases in roll due to additional house building in the catchment area.
PHOTOCAPTION: Councillor Ellen Forson cuts the first sod on the Redwell site, helped by Claremont PS pupils Lucy Graham P1 and Luca Allison P5, and St Jiohn's PS pupils Asad Sohail P1 and Sonny Cichosz P5. They were watched by Clackmannanshire Council's Education Business Manager, Michael Boyle, Head of Education Belinda Greer, Assistant Heads of Education Kevin Kelman and Alan Milliken, Neil McCormick, chief executive of hub East Central Scotland, and Robertson Construction's project manager Craig Smith. Also present at the historic occasion were St John's head teacher Ian McNicol and head teacher of Claremont PS Kay Strang.