New 500-pupil primary school, East Kilbride

"We are absolutely delighted with our new school. I am amazed how little disturbance there was during construction, given the site was so close to the existing school. We had no interruptions to teaching and are very impressed with just how efficient this system is."

The Requirement

South Lanarkshire Council had an urgent requirement for a complete new primary school building to replace a 1960s storm-damaged school in East Kilbride.

The Solution

Yorkon was awarded the £5m design and build contract for the new Our Lady of Lourdes School, which is believed to be the UK's first complete school to be built off-site.

The contract included the construction of a 16-classroom 500-pupil school and nursery alongside the existing school, which would then be demolished and replaced with landscaping and an all-weather floodlit sports pitch.

Features of the new school include an impressive glazed entrance, a pre-school nursery, main hall and dining room, library, extensive landscaping and soft play areas. The two-storey building, designed by Yorkon, has pitched roofs above the main entrance and the main hall. The exterior is finished in two shades of blue with co-ordinating blue windows and doors.

Comments from the Client

Donald Thomas, Head of Finance for Education Resources, South Lanarkshire Council:

"We have used the system build approach in a number of schools and have been impressed with the quality of construction and finish. Here, the local community is benefiting from a complete new school. It was important to replace the existing 1960s storm-damaged school and we are now set to have a state-of-the-art facility in half the time of traditional site-based construction."

"The project has been designed to meet the needs of teaching staff and pupils, creating a stimulating and attractive educational environment. It will also become a valuable community facility for use during evenings and weekends. The phased development significantly reduced disruption to the running of the school, which remained fully operational throughout construction of the new building."

Paul McGarry, Headteacher:

"Yorkon's service has also been fantastic. Their team was dedicated, obliging, friendly and considerate about the needs of the school at every stage. They helped the school and the children whenever they could, were highly organised and quite simply a pleasure to work with. We are very impressed – the service has been first class."