Sturgeon unveils 19 schools to benefit from £230m upgrade plan

The latest stage of the project will take the overall number of schools being rebuilt or refurbished under the programme to 112.

Ministers said more than 6,500 pupils are set to benefit from the latest upgrade plans, which should see the 19 schools completed by March 2020.

The announcement was confirmed as the First Minister travelled to South Ayrshire to meet pupils and teachers at Queen Margaret Academy, one of the buildings set to be replaced.

The new building will include a supported learning centre for up to 50 young people with complex learning needs.

Ms Sturgeon said: "We are working hard to improve educational standards across the country to make sure that every child in Scotland has the ability to achieve their potential.

"Part of that is making sure that children have the right physical environment to learn in. This ambitious plan will replace older schools across the country with new, modern buildings that will bring benefits to the whole community."

John McDowall, depute leader of South Ayrshire Council, said he was delighted that Queen Margaret Academy has been included in the programme.

The 18 other schools to be rebuilt or refurbished across the country are Inverurie Academy in Aberdeenshire; Hayshead Primary, Muirfield Primary and Ladyloan Primary in Angus; Abercromby Primary in Clackmannanshire; St Agatha's Primary in East Dunbartonshire; East Lothian's Wallyford Primary; Queensferry Community High in Edinburgh; Mariner Support Service in Falkirk; Glasgow's Blairdardie Primary and Carntyne Primary; Alness Academy in the Highlands; Kilmacolm Primary, Inverclyde; Lossiemouth High in Moray; Cumbernauld Academy and Burnside Primary in Lanarkshire; Renfrewshire's St Fergus Primary; and St Margaret's Primary in Stirling.

Ms Sturgeon said ministers have exceeded the target set in 2009 for improving school buildings around the country.

"We had planned to build or refurbish 55 schools across Scotland; these new schools now take the total to 112 - more than double our original target," she said.

"Since 2007, we have worked with local authorities to rebuild or refurbish 607 schools, resulting in the number of children educated in 'poor' or 'bad' condition schools falling by 60%.

"This infrastructure investment programme has already generated an estimated 11,000 construction jobs and 230 apprenticeship placements. Now, as these further developments begin construction, we will see a further boost to the economy right across the country."

At Queen Margaret Academy in Ayr, Ms Sturgeon spoke to Year 1 pupils working on an art project and played several rounds of table tennis in the school gym.

In the art class she had a turn at making a papier mache cast of a shoe, part of a project marking Holocaust Memorial Day on Wednesday.

The First Minister, who grew up in nearby Irvine, told pupils her favourite subject at school was English.

She said: "It's really important to make sure young people, as we try to give them the best education possible, are learning in good quality physical environments.

"I've been really impressed with the pupils I've spoken today - some really talented young people.

"They are loving the subjects they are learning here and I think this is a symbol of the great education system we've got here in Scotland.

"But I want to make sure it's even better, and a key part of that is making sure that young people have good, state of the art buildings to learn in."

The Scottish Liberal Democrats welcomed the new schools announcement but said "savage cuts" to council budgets would affect education.

Liam McArthur MSP said: "New schools can provide an excellent learning and teaching environment for pupils and staff. However, John Swinney's savage cuts to council budgets will be disastrous for the delivery of high-quality education across Scotland.

"Already we see classroom assistant numbers down, class sizes up and local authorities facing a daily struggle to meet rigid, top-down targets imposed by the Scottish Government. The SNP's latest funding cuts will only make matters worse, something pupils, staff and parents across Scotland know only too well".

The Scottish Greens' education spokeswoman Isla O'Reilly said: "Continuing to refurbish and rebuild schools is commendable but the education investment we really need to see from the Scottish Government is about what happens inside our schools.

"Class sizes are the biggest they've been since 2007, additional support needs provision has been cut and many teachers are at breaking point with chronic workloads.

"Scotland can have a better education system but we need a bolder Holyrood that is prepared to invest in smaller class sizes and support for teachers."