The state-of-the art Dunfermline Learning Campus was built to strict Passivhaus standards in a bid to slash the building’s energy bills.
John Swinney speaks with St Columba’s pupils at the opening of the new Dunfermline Learning Campus(Image: Scottish Government Flickr)
Scots pupils have been left “stressed out and sweating” in a £122m new eco school after being told to keep classroom windows shut.
The state-of-the-art Dunfermline Learning Campus was officially opened by John Swinney in December 2024 to replace two crumbling secondaries in the Fife town.
The replacement Woodmill High and St Columba’s schools have been brought under one roof in a building more than 26,000 square metres in size.
But youngsters and parents have since raised concerns about soaring temperatures in classrooms, with one councillor claiming they are “too flipping hot”.
The Campus, which has space for 2,500 pupils, was built by Fife Council to strict Passivhaus standards in a bid to slash spending on heating bills.
The radical system is designed to create highly energy-efficient buildings by using top-end insulation and carefully planned windows.
Swinney hailed the “astonishing innovation” when he opened the two new schools last year. The SNP leader said they demonstrated the “highest standards of energy efficiency and climate action that we can take”.
But Fife councillors were told this week the reality of learning in the air-tight building could be challenging.
SNP member Jean Hall-Muir told the local authority’s education committee: “There is still a lot of frustration. Schools, in particular, make me want to tear my hair out because they are still too flipping hot.
“Despite reassurances, even at the new learning campus, we need to better balance what it is like for 35 small hormonal humans to be in a room that you cannot open the windows.
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“It is wretched to be in them when everyone is stressed out and sweating. We have to be able to open the windows and to control the temperature not from a central thing.
“These are spaces for humans and we need to remember our goals to save the planet is to prolong human life.
“It is great to do great work on spreadsheets but we must always include the actual experience. I have nothing but respect and admiration for our headteachers but what looks good on paper is it is not nice from a 14 to 17 year old’s lived experience in that same setting.
“Council work is great, it is methodical, cost-measured work. But we need to put that into a context of a lived human experience.”
The councillor warned pupils were being told windows can’t be opened due to energy efficiency measures.
“My request is please have a look to see if there is anything to empower them with the ability to control the environment a bit more,” she added. “What is the experience like for students? They feel clammed up in there. They don’t feel like they are celebrating doing their bit for the climate.”
Jonathan Coppock, Fife Council lead for Net Zero, said they were aware of overheating issues at the learning campus.
“It is a novel project,” he said. “It’s the largest Passivhaus school building in the world. There are some teething issues when you first hand over a building.
“Teams are working hard to resolve that right now. One of the misconceptions is that you cannot have open windows. All classrooms will have some windows that can open to deal with some overheating. That is part of the criteria but there is a real element of education with these more complex buildings and teaching people how to operate these systems.”
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