News Northern Ireland releases £180m of school projects for construction


Northern Ireland’s Education Minister Paul Givan has approved 13 school projects to progress to construction stage, representing more than £180 million of capital investment. The announcement, made in April, covers four major works projects and nine school enhancement schemes.


The major works projects are Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, Priory Integrated College in Holywood, Dunclug College in Ballymena and St Malachy’s Primary School in Armagh. Together, these four projects represent just over £130 million of investment over the following four years.


A further nine schools are moving forward through enhancement projects. These are Lurgan College, Greenhaw Primary School, Antrim Primary School, Fairview Primary School, Ballyclare Primary School, Chapel Road Primary School, Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Belfast, St Bride’s Primary School in Belfast and St Mary’s Primary School in Newtownbutler.


The enhancement schemes are intended to address immediate requirements through smaller-scale refurbishment or extension works and represent just over £50 million of investment over three years.


The Education Minister said the projects had been released to construction stage following consideration of capital expenditure and the condition of the schools involved. The announcement provides a mixture of major new-build work and smaller interventions, rather than a single programme of identical projects.


For contractors and specifiers, the schemes demonstrate the range of work currently being progressed through Northern Ireland’s education capital programme. The major projects will be delivered over several years as they progress through construction, while the enhancement schemes focus on refurbishment and extension. The announcement also identified schools where buildings were considered to be in particularly poor condition and where replacement accommodation was required.


The combined value of the two groups of projects is more than £180 million. The projects form part of the Northern Ireland Executive’s wider capital investment in its school estate.


Scotland consults on modernising school premises regulations


The Scottish Government is consulting on proposals to update the School Premises (General Requirements and Standards) (Scotland) Regulations 1967. The regulations establish requirements relating to school premises, and the Scottish Government says the proposed update is intended to reflect modern educational needs.


The consultation was published on 25 March 2026 and forms part of wider work to update Scotland’s building standards and education estate requirements.


The existing regulations date from 1967, making the proposed review particularly relevant to the design and refurbishment of school buildings. For specifiers, changes to the regulations could affect the requirements that apply to future


school projects in Scotland. The consultation therefore provides an opportunity for those working across education construction to understand the direction of travel before any final changes are introduced.


The review sits alongside separate work on Scottish building standards. In July, the Scottish Government published research examining potential improvements to energy and emissions performance for new non-domestic buildings. The research was undertaken to inform the setting of targets within the next set of Scottish energy standards.


The July modelling considered a range of non-domestic building types and examined different specification scenarios and energy systems. The work included analysis of building energy use, carbon emissions and potential costs associated with different standards.


Although the research is not specific to schools, schools fall within the non-domestic building category and the findings are relevant to future education projects. The Scottish Government is therefore reviewing both school-premises requirements and wider building-energy standards during the same period.


For design teams working on Scottish education projects, both developments are worth monitoring as the Government progresses its consultation and technical work. No final change to the 1967 school premises regulations has yet been announced. The current consultation is part of the process of considering how the requirements should be updated.


4 Autumn 2026 issue 4185


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