NEW analysis has revealed that a Renfrewshire school built half the size it needs to be is, in fact, a third of the size it needs to be. 

Gaffe-prone education chiefs at the council are now set to build a brand new primary with the cost to the taxpayer almost certainly in the millions. 

Last November, The Herald revealed that the brand new £18m Dargavel Primary should have been able to accommodate 1,100 pupils, but due to an “error” by officials, the new building can only hold 430 kids. 

READ MORE: Dargavel Primary 'too small' after council blunder

What made this hugely embarrassing for the council, was that parents had been warning for some time that the new building was not going to be big enough.  

Those concerns were repeatedly rejected by officials. 

In a new update, issued on Friday, Steven Quinn, Director of Children's Services at Renfrewshire, said that after new modelling, they now expected 1,500 children to need to use the school by 2033. 

He explained that the figure was “a potential maximum only, based on several assumptions which may not happen” and was based on “one year of live data we have since the school opened.”

“In light of this information, we can now confirm we intend to recommend building another primary school within Dargavel. 

“Members of the Council's Education and Children's Services Policy Board will be asked to give approval for us to progress work on a new school at their next meeting on 9 March. 

“The new school will require capacity for around 700 pupils. As part of our long-term planning, we will develop further options to give us the flexibility to increase primary school capacity in the wider area, should it look likely to be needed.”

READ MORE: John Swinney to meet parents over Dargavel Primary blunder

Dargavel Primary is part of the privately funded Dargavel Village project, a multimillion-pound development to build 4,000 new homes on the site of a former Royal Ordnance Factory by 2034.

As part of the agreement with the council, BAE systems paid for the new school.

However, because they have built it to the specifications supplied to them by the council their obligations under what is known as the Section 75 agreement, are now discharged. 

Mr Quinn said the council was in discussion BAE Systems to secure land within the Dargavel development for a new school. He added that they expected the building to take “around 36 to 42 months.”

In the meantime, six new “modular classrooms” are due to be added to Dargavel Primary over the summer. 

He also said Park Mains High School, the local secondary “continues to operate well, with modular classrooms due to be installed to provide additional flexibility for the school.” 

Local Labour MSP Neil Bibby said the update raised more questions than answers.

“The scale of this blunder gets worse and worse,” he said. “Now a potential school roll of 1500 has been admitted to. That’s almost three times what the existing school was built for. 

“Serious questions remain about who is picking up the tab for the new school and the total cost of this fiasco. 

“I have been clear - no child anywhere in Renfrewshire should be paying the price for Renfrewshire Council’s catastrophic mistake. 

“There are also concerns about the capacity of Park Mains to absorb this ever-expanding projected roll. Children in the 2024 intake and beyond are also still in limbo about what arrangements will be made for them. 

“This is a mess of Renfrewshire Council’s own making. Parents and children need accountability, and above all they need answers.”

Tory MSP Russell Findlay said there needed to be “full transparency” over the new build. 

“It will be a huge relief to families to learn that a new school will be built after this catastrophic council blunder,” he said.

“But we still don’t know how such a massive mistake was made or the total cost to hard-pressed taxpayers.  Crucially, families have no idea when this will be built.

“Going forward there must be full transparency from SNP-run Renfrewshire Council.”

Renfrewshire Council Leader Iain Nicolson said: "We understand the concern expressed by parents in the Dargavel area over school capacity. 

"I can assure them our full focus is on getting the right solution for local pupils, which is why officers are now able to progress plans for a new school in the area.

"A significant error was made when planning the current school and the circumstances behind this are now subject to an external review. 

"Throughout the process, engagement with the school Parent Council and wider parent community will be crucial – and we will ensure their views are sought as we develop future options."