CONSTRUCTION work on the £220 million Dunfermline Learning Campus is "progressing well".

Fife Council gave an update last week on the huge project, which will see St Columba's and Woodmill high schools share a 58-acre campus at Halbeath with Fife College.

The main contractor for the schools is BAM Construction and, after enabling works were completed, they began building in the summer.

Last week, the council said: "Constructing the new schools is progressing well and we're on target for opening in August 2024."

Their newsletter, containing a time-lapse video, a 3D run-through of what the new St Columba's and Woodmill should look like and drone footage of the site, shows that the campus is beginning to take shape.

And kids have been given a closer look with 13 pupils from the high schools starting on BAM's 'Introduction to Construction' programme in late August.

It's designed to give them an insight into the industry and the campus project in particular.

The same month, teachers from both schools' leadership teams got together for a workshop, discussing the changes lying ahead and the best way to support staff and pupils through those changes.

St Columba's and Woodmill will retain their own identity and have their own designated classrooms and pupil entrances but will share accommodation such as the assembly hall, dining area and learning resource centre, as well as the sports pitches.

Among the many benefits, Carrie Lindsay, executive director of education, said that the design and "open feeling" of the building would even help prevent bullying.

The low-carbon facilities will be complemented by environmentally-friendly measures outdoors, including a "rain garden", species-rich meadow, bat boxes, solar panels, allotments and fruit trees.

To the immediate north of the schools, the college campus will have industry-standard workshops for engineering and construction, a university hub to help learners study to degree level, a purpose-built learning café, sports hall, and an innovation and events hub to cater for different college and community events.

Outdoors, there will be a multi-use sports area, terrace, spaces for childcare courses, dining areas for hospitality students, covered workshop areas, teaching, and gathering areas.

However, there are clouds on the horizon. The project has already jumped in price and there's the possibility that the project will be delayed and end up costing a lot more.

Last December, it was confirmed that the schools element of the campus, which the council are paying for upfront, was already £11m over budget, and that was before the latest economic downturn. The estimated cost rose to £122m.

The new college, which is being funded through a different vehicle, is being paid for by the Scottish Government, through the Scottish Funding Council, and will cost £100m.

However, the economic outlook now is gloomier and it looks likely the final bill will be much higher.

In August, the council said that soaring inflation and increasing costs, as well as supply chain problems, shortage of materials and labour, were likely to impact on their capital projects.

The effects began to be seen last week when a council manager estimated that a scheme in Charlestown could cost up to 30 per cent more than first anticipated.

The council is also delivering a new Inverkeithing High School, which is due to open in the summer of 2026.