A NEW primary school in Scotland has been built “too small”, following a blunder by the local council.

The new Dargavel Primary School in Bishopton, Renfrewshire was meant to educate 1,100 pupils, but due to an error by officials, the new building can only accommodate 430 children.

The £18m building - which opened in 2022 after being delayed three times – is part of the privately funded Dargavel Village project, a new multimillion pound development to build 4,000 new homes on the site of a former Royal Ordnance Factory by 2034. As part of the agreement with the council, BAE Systems paid for the new school. But because of the council’s error, they will not be financially liable for expanding the school. Instead, the additional funding, which could be as much as £17m, must be found from the council’s budget.

Professor Alan Dunlop, one of Scotland’s leading architects, told the Scottish newspaper The Herald that he was “bewildered” how such an error could have occurred.

He said: “Design and construction of a school, or any building, including working through developing a brief and the various processes required and making and securing the necessary planning approval and building consent and warrants can take a few years. So it's difficult for me to understand how an error so profound as the school being too small can occur.”

In his letter to parents, Steven Quinn, Director of Children's Services at the authority, said: “I am very sorry to advise you an error was made when determining pupil numbers for the new primary school in 2017.” He said six new modular classrooms with their own heating, cloakroom, and toilet facilities will be in the playground for next August. He also promised a full review of the situation and said that steps will be taken to develop a longer-term solution.

Local Conservative MSP, Russell Findlay, told The Herald: “For the council to get these basic sums so spectacularly wrong is embarrassing. Most primary school kids have a better grasp of numeracy.”