Project: Tain Campus
Client/Contractor name: The Highland Council and Kier Construction
Location: Tain
Framework: SCB2 (now replaced by PB3)
About the project
The £65 million Tain Campus is one of the largest and most ambitious education developments undertaken by The Highland Council. The new Passivhaus-accredited campus brings together early years, primary, secondary and additional support needs within a single location, creating a modern, sustainable and inclusive learning environment for children and young people aged between 3-18.
The state-of-the-art campus replaces several ageing school buildings that were no longer fit for purpose, including Tain Royal Academy, Craighill Primary School, Knockbreck Primary School and St Duthus School. Many of these facilities had reached the end of their operational life and could not be easily adapted to support modern teaching methods, inclusive education or long term sustainability.
With shared spaces, sports facilities and outdoor areas, this new campus serves as a wider community asset designed to be used beyond the school day to support wellbeing and community activities for residents within the Tain area.
The solution
The Highland Council selected the Scottish Procurement Alliance’s former SCB2 framework, appointing Kier Construction to construct the Tain Campus.
The SCB2 framework has since been replaced by the Public Buildings Construction and Infrastructure (PB3). The PB3 framework encompasses new build and refurbishment works, civil infrastructure and hard facilities management.
Since 2016, the Scottish Procurement Alliance has supported The Highland Council with the procurement of more than 40 projects, helping source reliable contractors via a compliant and robust process. The work has ranged from office refurbishments, roofing replacement, kitchen upgrades, fire protection and new build construction.
The results
The Tain Campus is an impressive state-of-the-art building that combines high-quality inclusive education facilities for children and young adults with community wellbeing spaces and landscaped outdoor areas accessible to the wider community.
With all four schools under one roof, it creates opportunities to inspire collaboration between the schools while developing a deep-rooted connection to the community of Tain with the availability of shared spaces, sports facilities, a dance studio and outdoor areas.
The campus is the first school building in the Highlands to be awarded Passivhaus certification. Featuring high levels of insulation, an airtight building fabric and a mechanical ventilation system with efficient heat recovery.
Community benefits delivered
The procurement approach embedded social value requirements that supported economic, social and environmental outcomes for Tain and the wider Highland area.
During construction, the project supported local employment and skills development, creating opportunities for jobs, apprenticeships and training while encouraging engagement with the local supply chain. This helped retain spend within the Highlands and promoted careers in construction and the built environment through links with local schools.
The completed campus provides long‑term community benefit through improved access to modern, shared facilities. Designed to operate as a community asset, the campus offers indoor and outdoor sports spaces that support wellbeing, inclusion and local activity beyond the school day.
Environmental performance forms a core part of the project’s social value. As the first Passivhaus‑certified school in the Highlands, the campus reduces energy use, carbon emissions and long‑term running costs, supporting net zero ambitions while ensuring the facility can serve the community sustainably for generations.
