Completion date of £45m super-school pushed back by six months

The campus was expected to be handed over to the council next month.

Completion date of £45m Tain Campus super-school in Scottish Highlands delayed by six months — Highlands: The school was due to be completed by December. Getty Images

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The opening of a multi-million-pound super-school in the Highlands has been delayed by six months.

The new Tain Campus was originally due for completion next month, but the local authority has confirmed that the expected handover date has been pushed back until June 2025.

Staff and pupils would be expected to start working from the building in August.

Highland Council said it would continue to monitor the progress of the development.

In 2022, planning permission was granted for the education campus for 13 to 18-year-olds, which would replace Tain Royal Academy, Craighill and Knockbreck primaries and St Duthus School.

The £45m complex will include community facilities, such as a library and sports pitches.

A Highland Council spokesperson said: “The new Tain Campus project has encountered a delay in meeting the December 2024 project handover date.

“The principal contractor for the project has been working closely with their subcontractors to mitigate this impact and has now produced a revised programme indicating a building handover date of June 2025, which results in an operational date of August 2025.

“This information was shared with the Project Stakeholder Group at a meeting in September 2024, and the Scottish Futures Trust have been kept informed.

“The Council’s project team is continuing to monitor progress with a particular focus on quality as this is the first Passivhaus project that this Council has undertaken.”