Construction underway at new Nairn Academy

24th February 2025

Construction work is taking place on the new Nairn Academy which is programmed to be operational in August 2026.

The school has a planning capacity of 800 pupils and is part of the Scottish Government's Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP).

Chair of the Education Committee, Cllr John Finlayson said: "This is an exciting development for the area and for members of the community who I am sure are eagerly awaiting its completion.

“The Highland Council is committed to improving the Education estate across Highland. Nairn Academy is a pilot project for us and is one of the first low energy complete ‘Passivhaus’ schools to be constructed in Highland.

“Improving our school estate is a challenge, but it is one we are committed to addressing with the support of our partners to offer more quality learning environments for school communities. We look forward in anticipation to a fantastic new school building for the pupils of Nairnshire."

Housing & Property Committee Chair, Cllr Glynis Campbell Sinclair said: “A great amount of work has taken place already in the preparation of the new school build, and we are beginning to see results of those great efforts from those involved in the project. The community will now be able to see the new school take shape as the steelwork goes up on site. This is really exciting, and we wish the construction team the very best with the build phase and look forward to progress updates.”

The campus will become Balfour Beatty’s second Passivhaus certified school building in Scotland - a quality assurance certification for the design and construction of low energy buildings and is due to be complete by August 2026.

Hector MacAulay MBE, Managing Director of Balfour Beatty’s regional business in Scotland said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to deliver this latest new project, further enhancing our legacy in delivering state-of-the-art, sustainable educational facilities across Scotland.

“With works now underway, we are working closely and collaboratively with The Highland Council to successfully deliver this new school which will provide an exciting and inspirational learning environment for hundreds of students and teachers, serving both current and future generations.”

The £61m contract awarded to Balfour Beatty is funded from Phase 2 of the Scottish Government's LEIP announced in December 2020, and capital funding for the project was approved by The Highland Council in September 2023.