A £4.8 million contract to build an extension at George Watson’s College on Colinton Road has been awarded to construction services firm ISG.
The firm will also carry out refurbishments to the existing building over the next year, as the school looks to expand its primary department, and provide better facilities for both modern languages and music in the Junior School.
The work is expected to be finished ahead of the new academic year in 2019. The steel-frame extension will create a new reception, five classrooms, a music suite and a library with views to the Pentlands. ISG will remodel the existing interior of the Upper Primary building, providing modernised toilets and the main thoroughfare.
The new stone-faced extension designed by Page\Park Architects will be a gateway to the Primary School from Myreside Road.
The landscape rises to the new front entrance providing level access for all, cementing the school’s ambition to create an open and welcoming environment for all pupils, visitors and staff. Featuring precast concrete floors, curtain walling and timber cladding, the new 11,500 sq ft extension has been designed to complement the existing Upper Primary building, providing a variety of interior “breakout” spaces for innovative learning and teaching.
Andy McLinden, managing director for ISG’s North and Scotland business, said: “George Watson’s College has an excellent reputation as one of Scotland’s leading independent schools, and this project is the first phase of a programme of upgrades and extension works, which will meet the increasing demand for pupil places. Our international education sector credentials and expertise working in live heritage settings will prove essential in the delivery of this complex project.”
The build project forms part of the school’s campus masterplan, which was developed in conjunction with its pupils, teachers and parents in a drive to visualise the future of the 50-acre campus. The school will upgrade its science, art, drama, sport, and food technology provisions in later phases.
The co-educational school currently caters more than 2,400 pupils from nursery through to S6.
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