BAM hosted a topping out ceremony at Dunfermline Learning Campus last week in Fife, marking a major milestone for the project.


Pupils helped Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Jenny Gilruth and councillors lay a cement plinth commemorating the school building reaching its highest point.

Dunfermline Learning Campus will bring two high schools and Fife College together on one site, with pupils sharing state-of-the-art facilities. The new high school building, built to Passivhaus standards, will accommodate up to 2,700 students when it opens in August 2024. The new college building opening later in the academic year.

BAM began preparing the site in September 2021 and moved on to constructing the school last summer. 

“The topping out ceremony here at Dunfermline Learning Campus is an exciting step towards completion of this highly sustainable, digitally enabled new school facility which will benefit young people in Fife. 

“BAM has a strong track record in the education sector in Scotland and we are able to draw on considerable expertise in delivering high-quality, sustainable education facilities which have a real benefit on learning outcomes.”

Martin Cooper

BAM Construction Director Scotland

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Jenny Gilruth said: “I would like to thank Fife Council and Fife College for inviting me to mark this significant milestone in the Dunfermline Learning Campus project. I’d also like to pay tribute to the Council for their continued commitment to its school estate across the area.  

“Dunfermline Learning Campus will provide modern, fit for purpose and collaborative facilities for students and staff through the support of the Scottish Government’s £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme.  

“I have no doubt that the whole community will benefit from this facility, and I am excited to return to see the campus again once the building work is complete.”

Fife Council’s Education Spokesperson, Cllr Cara Hilton, who has two children at Woodmill High School, thanked everyone for attending the ceremony and praised the strong partnership working on this build: 

“The £122m school build is a huge investment from Fife Council in the future of Fife’s young people. With help from our partners, we’re building schools across Fife which are ground-breaking in their design and function.  

“I’m excited for the future of learning in Dunfermline; the pupils and students will benefit from fabulous new facilities that are fit for the 21st century.”

Fife Council is working in partnership with Fife College, The Scottish Government and Scottish Futures Trust to create Dunfermline Learning Campus. The project is procured and managed for Fife Council by hub East Central Scotland.

Stephen Long who leads the Learning Estate Infrastructure team at the Scottish Futures Trust, said: “In managing the new Learning Estate Investment Programme, our focus is on working with our partners to deliver high quality, well maintained, digitally-enabled buildings that achieve ambitious energy targets.

“Fife Council has embraced that focus with the Dunfermline Learning Campus being designed and built to achieve Passivhaus accreditation, which as well as lowering energy consumption should also provide excellent ventilation and comfortable temperatures all year round. This demonstrates Fife Council’s continued commitment to reducing building related carbon emissions for the benefit of the community.”