Staff ‘thrilled’ with ‘warmer, more comfortable’ school after energy efficiency upgrades
- Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in East Kilbride has completed ambitious retrofit works to remove an outdated fossil fuel boiler
- Project described as “the first template of how to decarbonise a school”
- South Lanarkshire Council was awarded £1.2 million through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund
- We visited the site to see the impact of the upgrades and get reaction from staff
Staff at a primary school say they’re “thrilled” with the results after an ambitious retrofit project was completed.
Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in East Kilbride has completed upgrades including replacing an ageing, fossil-fuel boiler with an air source heat pump, improving insulation and adding triple-glazed windows.
After her first visit to the school, our relationship manager, Méabh Poultney, said “The school looked very impressive, staff all seemed thrilled and the school was warmer and more comfortable for all.”
South Lanarkshire Council was awarded £1.2 million through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund towards its works by the Scottish Government, administered by our team at Salix.
Some pictures from our first Salix visit to the school since works were completed. Picture credit: Salix Finance
This is the first project South Lanarkshire Council has completed as the authority works towards a target of being net zero by 2045, including improving energy efficiency at the authority’s 125 primary schools, but Our Lady of Lourdes was described by the team there as “the first template of how to decarbonise a school.”
It was also the first of the projects funded through Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund to complete.
“South Lanarkshire Council provided a really great example of a successful grant project, completing their project within the grant period and complying well with all the Salix procedures, which made it a great site to visit,” added Méabh.
The school – which can take up to 495 pupils, plus another 65 in its nursery – had seen its 23-year-old fossil fuel boiler begin to fail, coupled with water and damp issues.
The upgrades were part of a wider refurbishment which, according to Méabh, "saw staff do their best to retain and recycle as many materials for items like desks as they could. They also described how the the upgrades to the teaching spaces and layout – including giving pre-school age students their own section of the building - had significantly improved the running of the school.
“It was great to meet the team in person, and it’s always amazing to see how their hard work pays off. I have stayed in touch with those that I met on the visit, as we continue to explore how Salix and the council can collaborate in the future and maximise their decarbonisation efforts.”
