A petition raised by St Andrews Environmental Protection Association Limited (Stepal), which questioned the legality of the decision to grant permission for the £40 million school, was refused earlier this year.

An appeal against this decision was then lodged and a procedural hearing has now set out a date for the hearing of the appeal to take place on 12th and 13thJanuary, 2016, putting the project on hold.

Head of service Robin Presswood confirmed the date which was set at a procedural hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh last week.

He said: “Today’s proceedings were to make sure that all procedural aspects had been complied with and that both parties were ready to proceed to a hearing.

“No decision was taken on the merits or otherwise of the appeal.”

Stepal, whose named directors are former Madras rector Lindsay Matheson and former teachers Mary Jack and Sandra Thomson, lodged the judicial review in the autumn, challenging Fife Council’s decision-making process when granting planning permission in principle (PPiP) for Pipeland’s greenbelt site.

Following a lengthy consultation process, planning permission in principle was issued in April 2014 for the school to replace the campuses at South Street and Kilrymont.