Aberdeenshire Council have unveiled a £36m ‘super-school’ in Ellon; including 25m pool, theatre and cinema-style assembly hall, with pupils having moved in last June.
Designed by Aberdeenshire Council and Keppie Ellon Academy also includes two gymnasiums, four games halls, outdoor sports pitches, five community rooms, a fitness suite and a 240-space canteen with part of the building earmarked for the North-East Scotland College Ellon Learning Centre.
Internally the school is arranged across three levels of accommodation with the ground floor dedicated to sports and the creative sector while the first floor is given over to maths, business studies and science. A top floor plays host to the humanities together with a library with museum-style glass cabinets displaying local artefacts and items of historical interest.
Project manager Mike Porter commented: “One of the main problems with the old school was that it was a split campus, divided 50-50 across a main road. What we have now is a well-lit, open environment which creates a very good space in which to both work and learn. It is pleasing to see the end result of a lot of people’s efforts. We had to get it up and running quite quickly but we are under budget, on time and on programme.”
Ellon Academy is a direct replacement for the old campus dating back to the early 1900s and 1960’s but which was cleaved in two by a main road through the town centre. Since demolished it lives on in the form of a new artwork on the glass front of the swimming pool designed by artist in residence Mary Bourne.
