Five more primary schools opened new classrooms in Edinburgh yesterday marking the sixth successful year of the Rising Roll programme of school extensions with hub South East and Morrison Construction.

The schools involved in this year’s phase include Currie, Davidson’s Mains, Granton, Stockbridge and Trinity Primaries and the new space delivered means that increasing pupil numbers can be accommodated in modern, long lasting facilities within school grounds.

Richard Park, operations director, hub South East Scotland Ltd, said: “I am proud to be marking the sixth successful year working in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council to tackle the issue of rising school rolls.

“In total we’ve now delivered 25 facilities on time and on budget through this innovative £22 million programme, providing quality, long term classrooms to tight timescales.

“We’ve had excellent feedback from staff and pupils about their new learning environments and we look forward to working on future phases, continuing this successful, collaborative effort.”

Cllr Ian Perry, education convener for the City of Edinburgh Council, added: “We have been proactive in tackling the challenge of rising schools for the past six years to ensure our pupils have the very best learning environment. This year five schools have benefitted from new classrooms, including our biggest single project of eight classes at Davidson’s Mains Primary School.

“The new buildings are a great example of how we have responded to accommodation issues by working with school communities to come up with suitable solutions. This council has led the way in Scotland in taking such an innovative and collaborative approach to tackling the issue of rising rolls and invested significantly in the new accommodation delivered.”

David Wilson, operations director for Morrison Construction, said: “We are very proud of the Rising Rolls programme.

“Work has progressed quickly and with minimum disruption to the teaching staff and pupils, who have been present while the work has been ongoing at each location. The teams have worked hard to get the new facilities completed in time for the 2018-2019 school year and we are delighted with the outcome.

“This programme isn’t just about bricks and mortar, but about investing in children’s education and supporting our schools to provide the best possible start in life for these young residents.”