New primary school building projects across the country have been given a £21 million boost from the Scottish Government.

Announced today by education secretary Angela Constance, the funding for the construction and refurbishment of schools in East Renfrewshire, Dundee and Argyll and Bute, accommodating more than 1,500 pupils is part of the Scottish Government’s £1.8 billion Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme.

The announcement was made as the education secretary visited Crookfur Primary School in East Renfrewshire which will be extensively refurbished and extended with the funding.

St Luke’s and St Matthew’s Primary School and St Vincent’s Primary School in Dundee will be replaced by a new joint primary school campus with Longhaugh Primary School.

In Argyll and Bute, Dunoon Primary School will be fully refurbished to retain its listed building status.

Ms Constance said: “These latest exciting new school projects will provide fantastic, modern environments for thousands of young people to learn in and will be enjoyed by generations to come.

“Providing high quality learning is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s work and as part of this, we are committed to delivering well-designed, sustainable schools through our Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme.

“On top of the educational benefits, these new modern school buildings will also provide amenities for the wider community to enjoy and will boost the local economies, creating apprenticeship opportunities for young people and construction jobs across the country.

“I look forward to visiting all of these new schools when they are completed.”

Since launching Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme in 2009, all 32 local authorities have received dedicated funding to improve their school estate. More than 9,000 pupils per year are already benefitting from the 18 new schools already open, with a further 17 currently under construction. The programme is expected to deliver more than 100 new or refurbished schools by March 2020.

Gemma Boggs, schools programme director at Scottish Futures Trust, added: “Protecting local jobs. Creating better schools. Achieving value for money. These are just a few of the benefits being delivered through the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme that SFT manages.

“I too very much look forward to returning when the schools are open to see the real value of the programme with pupils being taught in modern, first-class facilities.”

The funding follows January’s announcement of another £21m investment which will see three schools in Dumfries and Galloway rebuilt or refurbished by 2018.