Prestwick Educational Campus will be developed on the site of the existing Glenburn Primary School and will accommodate the school’s current intake, as well as the relocation of the nearby St Ninian’s Primary. Temporary accommodation has been installed to provide additional teaching space while work is in progress.

Once complete, Prestwick Educational Campus will house 22 classrooms spread over two storeys and an incorporated Early Years centre with nursery facilities for children aged two to five.

Outside, the campus will boast outstanding outdoor sports amenities, include a sports hall, an astroturf playing field and a gym hall. A new allotment garden, willow garden, and sensory garden will help children to learn about local nature.

The development will also deliver a community training programme through TIGERS Ltd (Training Initiatives Generating Effective Results Scotland). The initiative is aimed at helping local people into employment by giving them valuable construction skills and onsite experience.

The new campus is being delivered by infrastructure partnership hub South West Scotland Ltd on behalf of South Ayrshire Council and is being built by Morgan Sindall Construction. The site will represent a transformative investment for South Ayrshire’s future generations and will enable a step-change in the way all-through education is delivered.

Michael McBrearty, chief executive of hub South West Scotland, said: “It is fantastic to see work moving rapidly on the development of this much anticipated new investment in education in Prestwick. With steelworks due to be complete in coming weeks, we look forward to seeing the new Prestwick Educational Campus take shape.

“Having already delivered six education projects on behalf of South Ayrshire Council, including the new Ayr Grammar Campus and Queen Margaret Academy, we are confident the new Prestwick Educational Campus will be a learning environment of which pupils and the local community will be proud.”

Stuart Parker, managing director for Morgan Sindall Construction Scotland, said: “We are really pleased to have begun work on the new campus for South Ayrshire Council and to have been able to celebrate the occasion with a fantastic turf-cutting ceremony. The project is a great example of twenty-first-century education-led placemaking and represents a massive investment in the South Ayrshire community.

“We are particularly thrilled to be once again working with hub South West. The framework is aimed at creating a positive social impact for the region and we look forward to working with our project partners to transform Prestwick into a campus on which people can live, work and play.”

Councillor William Grant, South Ayrshire Council’s portfolio holder for children and young people, said: “I’m delighted that work has begun on the new Prestwick Educational Campus. Our priority is to ensure that our children and young people get the best possible start in life and thrive throughout their years at school.

“This investment in our school estate will bring fantastic learning facilities to Prestwick and will help us close the attainment gap in South Ayrshire.

“The new campus will not only provide modern and engaging environment for our young people but will also become a central hub for the surrounding community, and I look forward with enthusiasm to seeing the building take shape.”