Deputy First Minister John Swinney was in Aberdeenshire yesterday to see for himself the progress being made on the £55 million Inverurie Community Campus project.

The cabinet secretary for education was in the town to attend the ‘topping out’ ceremony, meet some of the staff and pupils of the current school and learn more about the wider community and education benefits which will result from the new facility.

He watched the final beam being lifted into place.

The project is one of the biggest school construction projects in Scotland. Once complete, it will be home to Inverurie Academy and St Andrew’s School, and extensive community sports and leisure facilities such as a six-lane swimming pool, as well as a multi-use games area, two all-weather pitches and an amphitheatre area. Importantly, the facilities on offer will be of use to the community and the school simultaneously, and will be a valued space for pupils and residents.

Provost of Aberdeenshire, Cllr Bill Howatson, said: “I was delighted to welcome Deputy First Minister John Swinney to this modern facility today and it was a pleasure to show him how Aberdeenshire Council is investing in the best possible buildings. Our aim is to provide community spaces and to help our children and young people have the brightest possible future.

“This will improve opportunities for everyone, and it is a demonstration of Aberdeenshire Council’s commitment to investing in Inverurie; maintaining what makes this a great place to live and work through the construction of modern multi-purpose spaces.”

Deputy First Minister John Swinney added: “I was pleased to attend the ‘topping out’ ceremony for Inverurie Community Campus today, this project will result in a fantastic new campus that the whole community can be proud of.

“Learning and teaching in such an innovative and inspirational setting can make a real difference to education outcomes.

“The Scottish Government is committed to improving Scotland’s school estate and we are providing almost £25.6m towards this project through our £1.8 billion Schools for the Future building programme.”

Robertson Group’s chief executive officer, Derek Shewan, said: “Today’s topping out ceremony marks an important milestone in the delivery of the new Inverurie Community Campus, which will provide state of the art facilities for students and the wider community.

“We are proud to be partnering with Aberdeenshire Council on this exciting project, one of a series of quality education buildings Robertson is delivering across the North East.”

The multi-million pound project, which is being delivered by Aberdeenshire Council and constructed by Robertson Group, is being carried out over three phases. The new building will be operational in March 2020, and the overall project completed by spring 2021.