SCOTTISH Borders Council is set to spend £100,000 from its emergency budget to find suitable options for Peebles High School.

Large areas of the school, including the gymnasium, changing facilities, the art department, and the additional support needs areas, were gutted by fire last month, and will need to be demolished.

Now, Scottish Borders Council is beginning the arduous process of deciding how to restore the facility, and will explore options such as complete demolition or simply reinstating the facilities which have been lost.

A report, set to go before the council on Thursday December 19, asks elected members to invest £100,000 into the options appraisal process, where building professionals will be consulted on the best way forward.

The Scottish Government has also been contacted by the council in relation to rebuilding the school, whether partially or in total, and the council has confirmed it is “proceeding with a major insurance claim” with Swiss-based insurer Zurich Municipal.

The report, authored by projects manager Steven Renwick, reads: “The current understanding is that 26 classrooms have been significantly affected by either smoke or fire damage.

“In the days following the fire, immediate and executive action has, and will continue to be taken, to recommission elements of the building so that education services can be resumed as swiftly as possible.

“The extensive and irreparable damage means that a series of medium and longer term actions will be required to be taken to replace the accommodation lost to the fire.

“There are a number of options which could be considered, ranging from full new build replacement, to a simpler reinstatement of the facilities which have been most directly affected or lost – which include art, additional support needs area, and toilet and changing facilities – as well as other multiple alternative scenarios which can all be tested as part of any options appraisal process.”

The council has also indicated that the delivery its school rebuilding programme will be affected by the incident, with Peebles now being seen as a much bigger priority than other schools.

In November 2018, the council agreed that Galashiels, Hawick, Selkirk and Peebles high schools would be rebuilt, in that order, with a new facility for Peebles High School not set to open until 2032.

However, the report indicates that this could change: “While notional timescales were identified for the replacement programme in the November 2018 report to council, these are now subject to review within the capital programme as a consequence of the recent changes to the funding model for schools announced by the Scottish Government in September 2019 as part of their new learning estate strategy.

“Timescales for the delivery of priorities identified within the wider learning estate strategy may be affected by the need to prioritise investment in the Peebles building.

“Scottish Ministers have verbally indicated they are prepared to support the council to minimise any such impact.”