£25 million for new Ayr Academy

Oct 2 2009

A BRAND new Ayr Academy will be built using more than £25 million in government cash.

News of the massive cash windfall was revealed on Monday morning – meaning that the dream of a new school looks set to become a reality.

The Scottish Government revealed that they will cover two thirds of the total construction cost of a replacement school from the £1.25 billion school building programme.

Ayr Academy is one of 14 Scottish secondary schools to benefit from the scheme.

South Ayrshire Council haven’t yet decided where the new school will be built, but they have confirmed that it won’t be on Dalmilling Golf Course.

The news was welcomed by South Ayrshire’s education spokesman Councillor Hywel Davies.

He said: “This is a very timely announcement, coming less than a fortnight after we posted some of the best exam and attendance results this authority has enjoyed.

“South Ayrshire Council has a firm and positive commitment to the improvement of the school estate and to the provision of a complete educational experience for our young people.”

Two new secondary schools have already been redeveloped under the Public Private Partnership scheme.

And Councillor Davies insists that the new Ayr Academy will continue to keep standards high.

He added: “This commitment and approach is clearly bearing fruit and our share of this funding will go towards the redevelopment of Ayr Academy, building on the redevelopment of Belmont and Prestwick Academies.

“To now have the opportunity to develop a third flagship school is extremely exciting and bodes well for the future of academic excellence in South Ayrshire.”

And Ayr MSP John Scott is delighted at the news.

He said: “I am also in no doubt that the hard work put in by the council in drawing up their fundamental review of the school estate is what has made it possible to successfully access this funding for a new secondary school for Ayr.”

And MSP Adam Ingram went on: “This new school will be incredibly welcome in the local community.

“Not only will Ayr Academy pupils get a new school but this project will provide much needed work for the construction industry, protecting jobs and the local economy.”

Scotland’s education secretary Fiona Hyslop revealed that the first new secondary school built under the scheme should be complete by 2013.

The current Ayr Academy building is expected to be sold off to developers once the building is complete.