Campus to host secondary school with focus on STEM
Local high school pupils to benefit from educational facility within University site.
Secondary school students living close to the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems are to benefit from a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Centre of Excellence school to be built at the campus.
The University of Edinburgh and Midlothian Council have agreed plans to build a school at the Easter Bush site, to open by August 2026.
The council is progressing an agreement with the University to buy the land for the school, which will replace nearby Beeslack Community High School.
The facility will address a projected increase in pupil numbers from expanding communities in local areas.
School facilities
The school will accommodate 1200 pupils, with capacity to expand up to 1600 pupils, and will have a dedicated learning space for children with additional support needs.
It will include community facilities appropriate for local needs, with indoor and outdoor sports facilities.
The building will be designed to have very low carbon emissions. Its green building standards and central location, which will encourage cycling and walking, will help the council towards its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
We are delighted to be working alongside Midlothian Council on this ambitious, collaborative project. By being part of the University of Edinburgh’s Easter Bush campus, this new school will draw from our world-leading expertise to become a STEM Centre of Excellence. The University has already had great success working with Newbattle Community High School in Dalkeith, and we want to build on this to help young people achieve their full potential.
Easter Bush is a world-leading research and innovation campus specialising in biomedical sciences, veterinary medicine and medicine. The new Centre of Excellence will not only raise attainment and help pupils secure high paying jobs in the future but linking with the University of Edinburgh, it will also become a knowledge base, helping inform improvements to building design, the curriculum and teaching methods across Scotland.