Edinburgh schools: Construction begins on Liberton High School set to open in 2026

The former building will be demolished after staff and pupils move into the new premises in 2026

Major construction works on an Edinburgh secondary school began today with plans for the new building to open in 2026.

Contractors Balfour Beatty commenced work on the replacement building of Liberton High School today – with plans for the community campus to feature non-educational facilities including as a café, library and flexible workspaces. Plans to rebuild the secondary school were instigated after a 12-year-old pupil, Keane Wallis-Bennett was killed by a collapsing changing room wall in 2014.

The 1,200 capacity school will incorporate a variety of inspirational and inclusive spaces for learning including classrooms, studios, workshops and science labs to provide learners with more personalisation and choice over their learning environment. Once pupils and staff have moved into the new building, the second phase will be the demolition of the old school which is due to be completed within a year.

The new Liberton High School is expected to be completed by 2026. Hector MacAulay MBE, managing director of Balfour Beatty’s regional business in Scotland said: “Throughout construction we will work hard to give back to the local community, creating and delivering new construction based educational pathways which will equip students with the skills and experience they need for a lasting, fulfilling career in our sector”

Councillor Joan Griffiths, education, children and families convener at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “It’s great to see work starting on the replacement Liberton High which is the latest school we are building for our young people. These new school campuses are innovatively and sustainably designed so they are inspirational places for learning for the next generation of young people creating a vibrant and thriving learning environment.

“The Liberton Community Campus is a really exciting project which provides an amazing opportunity to create a community lifelong learning and sports hub to replace the existing school. This means public services can be co-located with links to active travel networks, green infrastructure and public transport networks.”

Cllr Griffiths added: “Our community hub vision for the building to be ‘more than a school’ aligns with our 20 Minute Neighbourhood Strategy – to localise and co-locate services, making them more accessible for communities and to improve the experiences and outcomes for everyone. This is all part of the council’s plan to support the wellbeing of everyone and end poverty and isolation in Edinburgh.”

The school will be constructed to Passivhaus standards designed to meet the city-wide aspirations for schools to be as energy efficient as possible in line with the council’s net zero targets, utilising high-performance windows and doors and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery to reduce carbon emissions, improve indoor air quality and decrease heating bills.

New sports facilities at the school include a floodlit multi use games area, basketball court and athletics facilities. The existing tennis and beach volleyball courts and mountain bike trail will be retained as will the sports block. A new fitness suite and dance studio will be provided to complement the existing sports facilities and there will also be outdoor learning spaces and a grassed amphitheatre.

Alison Humphreys, acting headteacher at Liberton High School, said: “The Liberton High School community and our wider learning community including Craigour Park, Gilmerton, Liberton and Prestonfield Primary Schools, where many of our future pupils come from, are very excited about the creation of our new Liberton Community Campus.

“In addition to a new secondary school with state-of-the-art facilities for learning, the building will also include a community library, community cafe, partner agency spaces and community fitness facilities. This is something that we are really looking forward to as it will bring so many opportunities for the wider public to use the space as a hub for accessing supports, learning, and fitness, and for socialising too.”