I'm not sure it's entirely appropriate for me to be drawn into this discussion, but I'll take up a couple of points from the previous two posts.
it really doesn't seem that long since we moved into a brand new shiny school for it now to be described as one of the most dilapidated school buildings in Scotland
The present buildings (opened on Friday 13 June 1969) were very much of their time. Remember there was no need then for the sort of electrical system that the extensive use of computers gave rise to in more recent times. The type of PE taught then didn't need the sorts of games halls that are the norm now. The science and home economics departments are no longer 'state of the art'. The Council has made a reasonable job of maintaining and adapting the buildings over the years, but there comes a point when the cost of maintaining flat roofs and 1960s external cladding becomes a case of throwing good money after bad. The decision to go for replacement is essentially made for you.
Considering that the previous CGS building in Stewart Road is still functional, it tells us that they don't make buildings like they used to. (or they didn't in the 1960s)
Still functional, Maurice, but not as a secondary school, and actually it was barely fit for that purpose when the 'new' school opened in 1969.
John Semple makes an important point:
the footprint of the new school will be much smaller than the existing one given the projected roll of the school
New schools are built to a 'footprint' based on so many square metres per pupil and a maximum cost of so many pounds to the square metre. The school roll has been dropping like a stone in recent years. My own calculations, based on the numbers of pupils in the primary schools, projected a roll of 396 by 2016. It's likely to be closer to 320 based on current numbers (down from about 520 at present). That means that any new school will be very much smaller than the present one, so it will have fewer classrooms, science labs, etc.
More to the point, if there are to be PE and sports facilities comparable to the recent new builds at Lochgilphead and Rothesay etc. then there may not also be a hall similar to the present hall, with significant implications for school far less community events. The new schools at Lochgilphead etc. have very good teaching spaces for both practical and non-practical subjects, but their single worst aspect is in my view the lack of a proper school hall and stage - the multi-purpose "hall/canteen/social space" they have just doesn't work and the 'stage' is worse than useless as a stage. But there will have to be compromises to stay within the 'footprint' and the financial envelope that gives rise to.
The Council will be involving a broad cross-section of community organisations in discussing what the new school should be like and it would not be daft to make sure all community interests are represented, if possible finding ways of levering in extra funding beyond the basic capital budget so that vital community facilities can continue to be part of the school's provision.
Sorry for the excessive length of this post and also if I've stood on anyone's toes!
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