IN Brief:
- The main steel structure is complete at Aberdeen's £124m Hazlehead Academy Campus, following construction commencing in March.
- Robertson is building the replacement academy on existing playing fields while the current school remains operational.
- The new school is scheduled to open in August 2028, with demolition and external sports facilities expected by summer 2029.
Robertson Construction has completed the main structural steel frame at Aberdeen’s £124m Hazlehead Academy Campus, advancing construction of a replacement secondary school being built beside the existing operational academy. The frame now establishes the principal building structure ahead of further enclosure, building services installation and internal construction work.
Aberdeen City Council is delivering the project through development partner hub North Scotland, with Robertson undertaking the construction. Work began in March 2026, and approximately 80 truckloads of steel were delivered during August as the new building’s structure progressed across the site.
Representatives of the council, hub North Scotland and Robertson marked completion of the frame alongside Hazlehead Academy’s head teacher and pupils. The steel-signing event took place before the structure is enclosed by the building envelope, recording the completion of a major stage in the construction sequence.
The replacement campus is being constructed on the playing fields of the existing school, allowing teaching to continue throughout the main building works. This arrangement creates a phased programme in which the new accommodation must become operational before the existing academy buildings can be demolished and the remaining external areas completed.
Maintaining an operational school next to a construction site affects how materials, equipment and personnel enter the development area. Deliveries and lifting activities have to be coordinated with access used by pupils and staff, while the construction boundary must separate building work from the surrounding school environment.
Structural steel erection places particular demands on that arrangement. Individual components must be delivered, positioned and connected to form a stable frame, with cranes and lifting equipment operating within designated working areas. The sequence depends on completed supporting works and the temporary stability requirements of the steel structure during assembly.
With the principal frame in place, Robertson can progress the external envelope and the installations that follow structural construction. The planned three-storey school will incorporate facing brickwork, rainscreen cladding, a pitched roof and large window openings, with a roof void accommodating building services plant.
The façade systems must be integrated with the structural frame and the thermal and weather-protection requirements of the completed building. Facing brickwork and rainscreen cladding require appropriate supporting and fixing arrangements, while junctions around windows and other openings must maintain the intended performance of the envelope.
The roof structure will provide weather protection and support the systems specified for the building. Robertson’s project design incorporates photovoltaic panels, introducing electrical generation equipment that must be coordinated with the roof arrangement and the permanent building services installation.
The roof void plant room will house equipment serving the occupied areas below. Mechanical and electrical distribution must connect this equipment with classrooms, circulation spaces and other accommodation, with service routes coordinated around the completed structure and the internal building layout.
Building services installation forms a substantial part of the remaining construction work. Heating, ventilation, lighting, power distribution and other systems must be installed in stages before commissioning can establish that the spaces are suitable for occupation. Their performance will contribute to the academy’s long-term energy use and operating conditions.
The campus forms part of the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme, with Phase 3 funding administered through the Scottish Futures Trust. The programme places emphasis on building condition, operational energy performance and wider outcomes from investment in educational infrastructure.
Robertson’s design incorporates measures intended to minimise embodied carbon during construction and reduce energy consumption during operation. Embodied carbon is associated with the production, transport and installation of building materials, while operational energy relates to the power and heating required once the completed school is in use.
These two areas require different forms of control during delivery. Material selection, quantities and construction methods influence embodied impacts, while the building envelope, services specification and equipment operation affect future energy use. The eventual performance of the school will depend on the completed construction and commissioning of those systems.
The academy is the first project to enter construction through hub North Scotland’s North Schools Programme. The initiative involves five local authorities and is intended to coordinate development of new educational facilities across the north of Scotland, including approaches to design, procurement and project delivery.
Hazlehead’s completed building will accommodate up to 1,600 pupils and serve an expanded catchment incorporating Countesswells and Kingswells alongside the established Hazlehead community. The larger school requires a layout capable of supporting teaching, specialist activities and shared facilities across the new campus.
External provision includes two full-size all-weather sports pitches and an athletics sprint track. The athletics facility has received £100,000 from sportscotland’s Sport Facilities Fund, supported by National Lottery funding, with the completed facilities intended to support pupils, local clubs and wider community use.
Those sporting facilities form part of the later development sequence because the existing academy must remain available during construction. Once pupils have transferred into the replacement building, demolition can release additional land for the remaining external works and the completion of the campus layout.
The planned transition also requires coordination between building completion and school operations. Teaching accommodation, access arrangements and the systems serving the new academy must be ready before the existing buildings are vacated. Construction activity can then continue elsewhere on the site without interrupting the move into the replacement school.
Aberdeen City Council expects the new academy to become operational in August 2028, with demolition of the old buildings and completion of the external sporting facilities scheduled by summer 2029. The £124m figure represents the overall campus project, while Robertson separately identifies a £117m construction value for its work.
The completion of the steel frame establishes the structure needed for the next phase of building construction. Robertson’s remaining programme will bring together enclosure, internal accommodation, building services and commissioning before the planned opening, followed by demolition and the final external facilities required to complete the campus.
