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Breaking new ground with the Barony Campus

Work on one of Scotland’s most talked about capital investment project - the Barony Campus - officially got underway this week as pupils gathered on site for the ground breaking ceremony.

The £68m Barony Campus will incorporate The Robert Burns Academy, Lochnorris Primary School, Cherry Trees Early Childhood Centre and Hillside School, providing state-of-the-art facilities for children, young people and the local community.

Works commenced on Monday 30 April as contractors Morrison Construction started to prepare the Broomfield site for the construction of this exciting campus development. Works are scheduled for completion by summer 2020.

Pupils representing all five schools involved in the merger – Cumnock Academy and Supported Learning Centre; Auchinleck Academy; Barshare Primary School, Supported Learning Centre and Early Childhood Centre; Greenmill Primary School and Early Childhood Centre; Hillside ASN School, were joined by invited guests including Leader Douglas Reid, Councillors Fiona Campbell and Tom Cook and Jeane Freeman MSP, as they observed the scale of the early works taking place.

The Barony Campus will be one of the most exciting learning campus ever built in Scotland and when competed it will be the most significant building of its type in the country. Set out as a series of four interconnected buildings it will provide accommodation for Early Years, Primary and Secondary learning communities including young people with additional support needs.

Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council said: “After a considerable period of discussion, deliberation and consultation, it really is a pleasure to see this project coming out of the ground.

“It’s one thing to see the drawings on paper, but it’s only when you are on site that you really appreciate the scale of this project and the impact it will have on the lives of our young people and communities.

“East Ayrshire is leading the way with this Campus. This project has been brought to life thanks to the input from pupils, parents, teachers and the wider local communities. The design will provide a nurturing 21st century learning and teaching environment to enable every child and young person to reach their full potential, and members of the community in Cumnock, Auchinleck and the surrounding villages will also be able to take advantage of the facilities on offer.

“Provision for pupils requiring additional support will be second to none; the new Campus will feature six fully equipped classrooms, dining facilities, a hydrotherapy pool, a state of the art sensory room and additional therapy spaces.

“In this digital age, it’s vital that our pupils have access to the very latest technology and facilities to enhance their learning. Among the many outstanding features within the new Campus will be wi-fi technology which will enable learners to work flexibly across the campus in different learning environments; interactive teaching aids and Scotland’s first interactive and immersive room - a high-tech audio visual space where learners can be part of a virtual environment.”

Eddie Robertson, Morrison Construction’s Managing Director for Central Scotland, said: “We are excited to begin works on this state-of-the-art project, which is a major investment for Cumnock, Auchinleck and the surrounding areas.

‘‘We look forward to continuing our working partnership with East Ayrshire Council and delivering this wonderful education facility for pupils, staff and the community.

‘‘Throughout construction we will continue to engage with all stakeholders while creating education and employment opportunities to ensure the project has a positive local impact that endures once the development is delivered.”

The new Campus offers an unprecedented level of sports provision, including 2 full sized, flood-lit synthetic pitches of world class rugby standard, a 400m 4 lane running track with 6 lane sprint, 2 full sized grass pitches, a 7 aside floodlit synthetic pitch and an outdoor basketball court, together with 13 indoor courts in various configurations.

Community recreation space will include a community café, meeting rooms, theatre space, enterprise kitchen for catering, recording studio, music practice rooms and project space for textiles/crafts and pottery.

The two rugby pitches will be the first elements of the project to be completed. These will give both the community and the school early access to greatly enhanced facilities to those previously located on the grounds at Broomfield. These are scheduled for completion early 2019. These, and many of the other facilities planned as part of this development, will be available for community use, as well as local sports club bookings.

Notes to editors

Editors notes:

Facilities in detail

  • 6 ASN classrooms with dedicated dining facilities, a hydrotherapy pool, life skills area, a state of the art sensory room, additional rebound therapy spaces and external spaces that will provide a safe and inspiring environment.
  • Accommodation for 119 Early Years learners across 2 large playrooms, with associated parents’ support and nurture facilities.
  • Access to an enclosed courtyard area where children will have free flow access from the playrooms. This means that children can choose which activities they wish to participate in, allowing them to develop independent learning skills.
  • Primary and Secondary classrooms designed for 21st Century Learning and Teaching.
  • A Primary and Secondary Supported Learning Centre will offer a safe nurturing environment where the most vulnerable children will be able to develop the necessary skills to allow them to achieve their full potential.
  • In the primary area there will be flexible teaching spaces and a learning plaza for STEM, Health and Wellbeing and creative activities. Children will have access to external spaces that are designed to provide activities that are both educational and exciting.
  • In the secondary area there are 3 learning plazas which will offer opportunities for more flexible learning and teaching where young people can develop creativity across learning and independent learning skills.
  • A learning resource centre (Library) with access to IT where children and young people can develop independent learning skills.
  • Music practice rooms and a recording studio for school and community use.
  • An outdoor arts terrace on the upper floor overlooking the River Lugar will offer an inspiring and stimulating outlook for creative art activities.
  • The largest indoor school sports facility in the West of Scotland, including a 6 court games hall, 4 court games hall, a 2 court gymnasia (with a sprung dance floor) , 1 court gymnasia and changing facilities for school and community use.
  • 2 full sized floodlit multi-use synthetic pitches (1 at World Rugby standard), an 400m 4 lane running track with 6 lane sprint, 2 full sized grass pitches (1 at World Rugby standard), a 7 aside floodlit synthetic pitch and 1 outdoor basketball court.
  • Performance auditorium / drama space with seating for approximately 530 to include engineered acoustic qualities commensurate with some of the best available performance spaces; supported by state of the art audio / visual and stage lighting systems.
  • Modern dining facilities, including a large cafeteria over two floors connected by a feature staircase with fixed restaurant style seating for 470, four smaller satellite serveries located across the campus and an external catering kiosk.
  • An enterprise kitchen to train young people in the skills for the hospitality industry.
  • A community café with food and drink provided by those being trained in the enterprise kitchen.
  • Approximately 2km of connected pathway network around the perimeter of site.
  • Upgraded pedestrian and cycle footbridge over River Lugar.
  • Publicly accessible facilities for the community.

 

Technology

  • Scotland’s first interactive and immersive room facilitating flexible and experiential approaches to learning. It will be a high-tech audio visual space where children and young people can influence, develop and be responsible for their own learning.
  • New, state of the art wi-fi technology allowing learners to work flexibly across the campus in a wide variety of different learning environments including traditional classroom spaces, 1:1 working spaces, group working spaces and large syndicate spaces
  • 3 state of the art IT learning suites, 2 design studies incorporating the very latest technology.
  • New, state of the art IT and audio visual learning tools including interactive teaching aids in classrooms and flexible learning spaces.
  • Latest technology to support dining functions including pre-order systems and integrated smart phone app technology.
  • School wide information management systems