IN Brief:
- Morrison Construction will complete RIBA Stage 3 and Stage 4 design work for the replacement Beeslack Community High School.
- The school will accommodate 1,200 pupils, with core facilities designed for up to 1,400.
- A planning application is expected in January 2027, ahead of an anticipated opening at the end of 2029.
Midlothian Council has appointed Morrison Construction to complete detailed design work for the replacement Beeslack Community High School, advancing plans for a new educational campus serving communities south of Edinburgh. The appointment follows a competitive tender process and approval at the council’s September meeting.
Morrison’s commission covers RIBA Stage 3 and Stage 4 design, rather than the main construction works. A full planning application for the redesigned school is expected in January 2027, with construction dependent on the subsequent approvals and procurement arrangements.
The proposed school will have capacity for 1,200 pupils. Core accommodation, including dining areas, gym halls and social spaces, will be designed for a larger population of 1,400. That difference reflects the capacity of shared facilities and does not change the stated 1,200-pupil school size.
The campus brief includes a swimming pool, additional support needs provision, community facilities and external sports areas. Integrating these different uses requires coordinated spatial and technical design, particularly where specialist facilities have servicing and access requirements distinct from ordinary teaching rooms.
RIBA Stage 3 develops and coordinates the spatial design, establishing how the required accommodation fits within the overall project. Stage 4 addresses more detailed technical information. Completion of those phases should provide a firmer basis for planning and later construction decisions, subject to the final procurement arrangements.
Teaching spaces, circulation routes, shared amenities and external areas will be used at different times of day. Their arrangement must accommodate both pupil movement and planned community access. Detailed spatial coordination will be developed through the design commission.
A swimming pool brings environmental control, water treatment and operational access requirements that differ from those of general classrooms. These services must be incorporated into the technical design alongside the rest of the school’s building systems.
Additional support needs accommodation will form part of the new campus. More specialist medical provision is being planned separately, changing the mix of facilities originally considered for Beeslack and allowing the design to concentrate on the revised education brief.
The Severe and Complex Medical Needs facility previously proposed at Beeslack will instead be located elsewhere in Midlothian. Its location and delivery programme remain separate from the replacement school, and that facility is no longer within the Beeslack campus scope.
The new campus is being prepared in the context of population and educational capacity needs across the local area. The final design must respond to the expected pupil population, while allowing shared spaces to accommodate the larger figure specified in the brief.
Planning engagement is now under way. The council has submitted a Proposal of Application Notice, establishing a pre-application consultation process before the full application expected in January. That notification does not amount to permission to construct the replacement school.
Public drop-in events are scheduled at Beeslack Community High School on 21 October and at Bilston Primary School on 11 November. Members of the council and project team are expected to discuss the emerging proposals and receive feedback from interested residents and other stakeholders.
Comments at those sessions can inform the designs before submission. A subsequent planning application will then be considered under the normal statutory process, including matters such as site layout, access, landscaping and the relationship with nearby development.
The target is to complete and open the school by the end of 2029, subject to design, planning and construction. That timetable allows several further decisions before site mobilisation, including the progression of the main works procurement.
The design commission gives Morrison a defined role in translating the revised accommodation brief into coordinated project information. The next reportable milestones are the October and November consultation events, preparation of the January planning submission and subsequent decisions about construction procurement and delivery.
The design commission separates technical coordination from later delivery decisions. It can develop the building layout, services and specification without determining the final construction price or start date. The next stages will establish the approved scheme, delivery arrangements and contractor responsibilities for physical works.
The design must also reconcile the larger capacities of shared areas with everyday circulation through the campus. Sports and community facilities introduce different patterns of use, which influence access arrangements and the coordination of building services.
The swimming pool and sports accommodation introduce technical requirements distinct from ordinary classrooms, including ventilation, humidity management and differing patterns of community access. Coordination during RIBA Stage 4 will have to integrate these spaces with building services, circulation and the proposed layout, subject to the approved design brief.
Morrison’s design commission will progress the school’s coordinated spatial and technical information ahead of the expected January 2027 planning application. The proposed campus combines teaching accommodation for 1,200 pupils with shared facilities sized for up to 1,400.
