Councillors at a meeting of the council’s Cabinet Committee discussed the plans which will see a new state-of-the-art school built on the Fleet Grounds as a replacement for the current Inverkeithing High School.

Construction is expected to start in July, and the first pupils will step over the threshold of the new modern, accessible building in August 2026.

Fife Council Leader and Committee convenor Cllr David Ross said: “I’m delighted that we’re moving forward with this project. It’s an exciting opportunity to create a new learning environment which will benefit learners and community users now and in the future.”

The new school will bring many benefits to pupils, staff and the wider community including:

• fully accessible and flexible indoor and outdoor spaces for learning, supporting interdisciplinary learning and linking different subject areas together
• improved support for pupils who need additional support day to day
• an assembly hall which can accommodate 350 pupils with retractable, tiered seating that can be moved away to allow the space to be used for a variety of purposes
• enhanced digital capacity, modern IT and Wi-Fi access which will increase the opportunities for digital learning both for individual learners and community groups
• a low energy building built to Passivhaus principles which will use around 75% less energy than standard practice for a UK newbuild
• a wide and varied community learning programme in modern, purpose-built facilities in evenings and at weekends
• a mixture of all-weather pitches and grass pitches as well as multi-use games facilities that will be available for community use

Education spokesperson Cllr Cara Hilton said: “I know from the survey work we’ve done that our children and young people are excited at the prospect of a new school.

“It’s clear that there will be significant educational benefits for our children and young people as they’ll be able to learn in a purpose-built facility suitable for their education now and in the future.”