Deputy First Minister attends campus event

Provost of Aberdeenshire Bill Howatson, Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Derek Shewan, Chief Executive Officer of Robertson Construction sign the final beam before it was lifted into place

Mr Swinney was in the north east on Wednesday, August 29 for the ‘Topping Out’ ceremony at the new £55million project site.

During his visit, the Deputy First Minister met with staff and pupils of the current school and heard more about the wider community and education benefits which will result from the new facility.

Mr Swinney, who is also Cabinet Secretary for Education, watched the final beam being lifted into place.

The Inverurie Community Campus project is one of the biggest school construction projects in Scotland.

Once complete, it will be home to Inverurie Academy, St Andrew’s School, and a number of community sports and leisure facilities including a six-lane swimming pool, as well as a multi-use games area, two all-weather pitches and an amphitheatre area.

The facilities on offer will be of use to both members of the local community and pupils attending the school.

Speaking at the ‘Topping Out’ ceremony Provost of Aberdeenshire, Cllr Bill Howatson, said: “I was delighted to welcome Deputy First Minister John Swinney to this modern facility and it was a pleasure to show him how Aberdeenshire Council is investing in the best possible buildings.

“Our aim is to provide community spaces and to help our children and young people have the brightest possible future.

“This will improve opportunities for everyone, and it is a demonstration of Aberdeenshire Council’s commitment to investing in Inverurie; maintaining what makes this a great place to live and work through the construction of modern multi-purpose spaces.”

Deputy First Minister John Swinney added: “I was pleased to attend the ‘Topping Out’ ceremony for Inverurie Community Campus, this project will result in a fantastic new campus that the whole community can be proud of.

“Learning and teaching in such an innovative and inspirational setting can make a real difference to education outcomes.

“The Scottish Government is committed to improving Scotland’s school estate and we are providing almost £25.6 million towards this project through our £1.8 billion Schools for the Future building programme.”

Robertson Group’s Chief Executive Officer Derek Shewan said: “The topping out ceremony marks an important milestone in the delivery of the new Inverurie Community Campus, which will provide state of the art facilities for students and the wider community.

“We are proud to be partnering with Aberdeenshire Council on this exciting project, one of a series of quality education buildings Robertson is delivering across the North East.”

The multi-million pound project, which is being delivered by Aberdeenshire Council and constructed by Robertson Group, is being carried out over three phases.

The new building will be operational in March 2020, and the overall project completed by spring 2021.