Paisley Grammar will open by August 2026 – eight months later than initially planned – Renfrewshire Council has said.
The local authority said the new school, currently being designed by top architects, will open for the start of the 2026-27 academic year. It was initially hoped it would open in December 2025.
The community campus will replace the existing Paisley Grammar School and will contain new facilities not possible on the current site, some of which will also be available for the wider community.
It will be built at the former Chivas factory on Renfrew Road within the site of a wider development to transform transport links in the north of Paisley.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring or summer of next year.
Councillors on the education and children’s services policy board will next week receive an update on progress with the building – including the new planned opening date of August 2026.
They will hear how the delayed date will ensure top-quality construction, minimise disruption to staff and pupils and eliminate any potential cashes with exams.
Councillor Emma Rodden, convener of the council’s education and children’s services board, said: “The new community campus will be a modern learning environment with state-of-the-art facilities.
“And our vision is for it to be more than a school – it will be a facility the entire community can enjoy and benefit from.
“A lot of work has already gone in to understand the future needs of pupils and staff, and to design a building which delivers everything they will need in the decades ahead – and we’re sure people will be impressed with the results once that work is complete later this year.
“The new planned opening date of summer 2026 will give time for everyone involved to make sure that exciting vision is delivered on, and means the school can move at a time that best suits pupils and staff.”
The council last year appointed international architects Ryder Architecture to lead the design team.
They have since led a series of workshops with pupils, staff and parents to establish what they want from the new school, with the results used to shape the detailed design work now under way.
It will include outdoor PE facilities, new outdoor areas, and a modern set-up for subjects like IT, music and drama.
It will also be designed to support new ways to learn and teach – with breakout and other areas for group work and one-to-one teaching, while being fully accessible for pupils with mobility issues or additional support needs.
The location of the community campus will also allow closer co-operation with West College Scotland.
The new community campus will benefit from greatly-improved transport links being delivered through a major project to create new road, walking and cycling connections in the north of Paisley.
That includes a new east-west road and bridge across the White Cart River linking Inchinnan Road with Harbour Road and Renfrew Road, plus new safe walking and cycling routes including use of a former rail bridge to create a pedestrian and cycle underpass under Renfrew Road linking the new school with Gallowhill and the east of the town.
The community campus is being funded by the council and Scottish Futures Trust, as part of their nationwide learning estate investment programme.
For more information on the new Paisley School Community Campus, visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/Paisley-Grammar-School
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