Aberdeenshire Council has officially submitted plans for a new £18 million primary school in Fraserburgh.

The proposal comes after the local authority unveiled proposals to merge Fraserburgh North and St Andrews schools and relocate pupils to a new state-of-the-art facility.

This latest move is the next milestone step in the project, which was originally started back in 2014.

Councillors agreed to move ahead with plans for the new school in November 2021 after it was revealed the two existing buildings were in need of “significant” upgrade works.

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The new school is expected to have capacity for 450 youngsters and could be complete by February 2026.

Meanwhile, the school is estimated to have around 50 members of staff.

Planning documents reveal the new two-storey school will have 14 classrooms, break-out learning spaces, a music and drama area, and fully accessible wet rooms.

The site will also feature a sports hall, pupil dining room as well as a meeting space that can be used by the wider community.

Facilities will be created for pupils with additional support needs too, such as a sensory room and nurture space.

It will be built on a site next to Fraserburgh Academy, with access from Dennyduff Road.

Aberdeenshire Council believes its central location “places the school at the heart of the community” and will give pupils the opportunity to walk or cycle to school.

And as the site is just a 15-minute walk to key facilities in the town including the library, police station and college, the local authority claims this could lead to future collaboration with local organisations.

It is even hoped that a new multi-use games area could be created on the academy site as part of the project.

But plans for the area will be progressed separately.

The new school will sit across the road from the former academy annex which is currently being converted into council housing.

The development will be named after former pupil and famous “loon” fashion designer Bill Gibb.

Teaching and support staff currently working at the two Fraserburgh schools will be transferred over to the new building, but just one head teacher will be appointed.

However, education officer Maxine Booth previously gave reassurance that both current head teachers would “absolutely” have a job.

Pupils currently attending the schools would move to the new facility while any other pupils would attend either South Park Primary School or Lochpots.

Meanwhile, the school’s name and uniform will be decided following consultation with pupils and the local community.

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