Montgomerie Park Primary School

Montgomerie Park Primary School, currently in the construction phase, will be a landmark for the Montgomerie Park masterplan. Designed to Passivhaus standards, it will house 342 students and childcare facilities, embodying dedication to sustainability, net-zero carbon, and the educational needs of tomorrow.

Date

2024

Client

North Ayrshire Council

Value

£21.3m

Montgomerie Park Primary School is a new non-denominational primary school for 342 pupils with a dedicated early learning and childcare facility with 32 places for 3–5-year-olds plus 15 places for 2-year-olds. The project is procured through hub South West Scotland framework on behalf of North Ayrshire Council and is being partially funded as part of the Scottish Government’s £2bn Learning Real Estate Investment Programme (LEIP). The new school supports the currently developing Montgomerie Park masterplan area, and adjacent existing residential area of Knadgerhill, north-east of Irvine town centre. The school is due to complete in August 2024. The masterplan was approved in 2003 and outlines a number of plots for residential development and community facilities.

The new school will create a formal landmark into the Montgomerie Park masterplan from the eastern approach along Long Drive. The school will form one edge to the new settlement with the design being influenced by a necessity for the school building to fulfil the role of a (central) community orientated public building, connecting with the existing adjacent neighbourhoods of Irvine.

The new primary school will comprise of 12 primary classrooms, early learning facilities, GP rooms, a gymnasium incorporating flexible performance areas, dining facilities and outdoor learning spaces. The facility will also include a new All-Weather Pitch and Playground Area, providing additional amenities to the local community. Accommodation adjacencies have been developed with North Ayrshire Council and the central shared spaces such as gym, dining, stage and social staircase form the heart of the building, offering flexibility as alternative learning environments, as well as community use out with school operating hours.

The new school will be designed to and certified against Passivhaus criteria, to achieve the required LEIP funding and minimise operational energy consumption and contribute to North Ayrshire Council’s ambition towards Net Zero Carbon. The new school has been designed with end user requirements and sustainability as key priorities and will be the first Passivhaus primary school in North Ayrshire Council.