First wave of 14 Scottish schools announced

The first 14 secondary schools to be rebuilt under a £1.25bn programme have been announced by the Scottish government.

Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop said more than 12,000 pupils would benefit from the new school buildings.

The first primary schools to benefit from the investment are due to be unveiled before the end of the year.

But Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray told the BBC the announcement was "far too little, far too late".

Some of the projects will be supported by the controversial Scottish Futures Trust.

Ministers believe the trust offers better value than PPP/PFI tie-ups with the private sector, but it has been criticised by opposition parties.

The pace of building has quickened with new and refurbished schools being delivered faster over this four year term than the last four year term

Schools in every local authority area in Scotland are expected to benefit from the programme, with £800m of Scottish government funding and £450m from local councils being used to rebuild a total of 55 schools.

Hyslop made the announcement during a visit to Lasswade High in Midlothian, which will be one of the first 14 schools to receive investment from the scheme.

She said: "This government and local authorities are already on track to lift 100,000 school pupils, by 2011, out of tired and crumbling school buildings and classrooms and providing them with cutting-edge accommodation and facilities in which to continue their 21st century education.

"As a result of the £2bn of capital funding for 2008-10 made available to local authorities, over 150 projects have been completed since May 2007 and we expect 250 by 2011.

"What's more, the pace of building has quickened with new and refurbished schools being delivered faster over this four year term than the last four year term."

But Mr Gray said the "failure" of the Scottish Futures Trust meant many councils had been forced to go it alone on school buildings and refurbishments.

He added: "These new schools are needed and for those pupils in new schools it will make a real difference to the quality of their education. Labour knows this and that's why 328 schools were built or refurbished under the previous Labour-led executive. The parents that have campaigned for the schools mentioned in today's announcement should be congratulated.

"However, this announcement is far too little and far too late. Scotland was promised a raft of new schools by the SNP but all we get are 14 schools with the 'promise' of more to come. None of these schools will be completed in the lifetime of this parliament and this shows the complete failure of Salmond's Futures Trust.

"It's strange that it took Labour to highlight the problems at Ellon Academy, at Wick High and at Lasswade in the media before the SNP would finally act and at last commission a school. They should hang their heads in shame for the years of delay."

Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith MSP called on First Minister Alex Salmond to apologise "to the pupils, parents and teachers of Scotland for two years of inactivity, two years in which the construction industry has been crying out for this work to offset the effects of Labour's recession."

Among the 14 schools included in the first phase of the project are Wick High, Mearns Academy and Ellon Academy in Aberdeenshire, Ayr Academy and Dalbeattie High in Dumfries and Galloway.

The others are Brechin High in Angus, Harris Academy in Dundee, Eastwood High in East Renfrewshire, James Gillespie's in Edinburgh, Auchmuty High in Fife, Garnock Academy in North Ayrshire, Clyde Valley High in North Lanarkshire and Dumbarton Academy.

The schools were selected partly because of their "unsuitability" to deliver modern education, and after consultation between the Scottish government, COSLA and the Scottish Futures Trust.