Edinburgh's Trinity Academy gets £10m sport and outdoor centre as first phase of new school

A new sports and outdoor centre at Edinburgh’s Trinity Academy will open to both pupils and the community in August.

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The £10 million Bangholm Sports and Outdoor Centre is the first phase of a bigger project which will see a new Trinity Academy by 2026.

In phase two, the school’s original Victorian red-sandstone building on Craighall Road, Trinity, will be kept and refurbished, while all its other buildings will be demolished and replaced with new facilities adjoining the original school.

The council is promising wide consultation with the school and broader community. Education director Amanda Hatton spoke at a meeting of Trinity Community Council last week. Engagement work is ongoing with school staff and after the summer break there will be more detailed discussions with parents and cluster primary school communities. The planning application for the project is expected to be submitted at the end of the year with the aim of starting construction in summer 2023.

The new sport and outdoor centre will open at the start of the new school session in August. As well as providing pupils with brand new facilities, it will be open for community use through Edinburgh Leisure.

Trinity head teacher Nick Burge said: “Having visited the site regularly over the last nine months, the new PE and sport facilities at Bangholm look excellent. I have worked closely with the design team and feel very lucky to have seen the plans become a reality.

“We have a very healthy PE curriculum as well as our extensive after school competitive and recreational sports programme. The new facilities including the strength and condition suites, dance studio, gym and games hall, provide a wonderful environment for everyone in our school to access during and after the school day."

The main entrance to Trinity Academy's new Bangholm Sports & Outdoor Centre.

The new Bangholm Sports and Outdoor Centre will include a four-court sports hall, gym hall, dance studio and fitness suite, and will become the new home to the school’s PE department.

The council’s Sport and Outdoor Learning Unit will also have a base in the centre so they can support outdoor learning in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.

Education convener Joan Griffiths said: “It’s great to hear that the new sports and outdoor centre will be opening after the summer. It will provide excellent facilities for both the school and wider community.

“This project is part of our exciting Wave 4 replacement school building programme which has already seen a new Castlebrae High School open at Easter. Work has started on a new Currie Community High School and plans are in place for more improvements at Liberton, Wester Hailes and Balerno.

“Despite the effects of the pandemic on the construction industry a number of new schools have opened in the past year, including both primary and special schools. We will carry on with our plans that will see more than £500m planned investment over the next decade as we’re committed to creating a first-class learning estate and ensuring all our children have the best possible learning environment in which to flourish.”