August 13 2013

Two of Scotland’s newest secondary schools, Eastwood High and the Lasswade Centre, are to welcome their first pupils tomorrow following their handover to both council's last June.

Despite being located 55 miles apart, they reside in East Renfrewshire and Midlothian respectively; both schools are considered twins as the council’s collaborated closely on their development.

This pilot partnership netted cost savings of £4m from a total budget of £65m and is set to form the blueprint for future collaboration between other local authorities.

Managed by the Scottish Futures Trust and designed by BDP both schools specify a number of innovative features including ‘open plan’ toilets to deter bullying, identically designed classrooms and dual-purpose common areas.

The Lasswade Centre additionally benefits from inclusion of a public swimming pool, gym, library and café.

SFT chief executive Barry White said: “The Eastwood and Lasswade schools are a perfect example of what SFT and local authorities can achieve through collaboration, and by having the courage to take an innovative approach to design, procurement and construction for the benefits of the communities the councils serve.
 
“Working like this means all parties reduce costs, and is one of the many ways SFT has been able to secure benefits of £132 million in the last year alone.
 
“In addition, SFT’s work in achieving greater value across the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme has meant that 12 more schools can now be built from within the existing budget, taking the total number of schools from 55 to 67. Because of this, 12,000 more children will benefit from being educated in first-class surroundings.”

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