Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School

The largest Passivhaus education building in the UK, Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School is a visionary project designed by AHR for Fife Council. Designed to go beyond traditional learning, the new school supports pupil and staff wellbeing, offering a stimulating, safe and secure environment to learn and teach within.

Situated within the Dunfermline Learning Campus, the project caters for 2,700 pupils and 246 staff members, bringing together two schools into one building with shared spaces at the heart. Promoting collaboration and a sense of belonging, whilst also enabling each school to operate independently.

The building is carefully sited within the campus at the head of the public square alongside a new Fife College building. A thoughtful landscape strategy enriches the learning experience, enhancing biodiversity and promoting wellbeing.

Each area in the school has direct access to outdoor teaching spaces and a relaxing courtyard which embraces new wave planting, melding the indoor and outdoor spaces to create a strong connection with nature. A secure, sensory garden also provides SEND pupils with the same opportunities for outdoor learning, with the necessary additional support.

A flexible internal layout encourages cross-department collaboration with dedicated areas for creative subjects and PE, providing teachers with the facilities to best connect with their pupils. The new school also accommodates classrooms, a learning lab, community kitchen, performance space, recording studio, IT hub, media lab, shared faculty space and community-led facilities.

A renewed sense of respect among pupils for their own and others’ learning has seen an increase in class attendance and their journey through education into adult life. The schools along with the adjacent Fife College offer a clear route through to training and higher level education, onwards to employment.

Designed to Passivhaus Classic and the WELL Standard, the design prioritises natural light, ventilation and air tightness - creating an energy efficient environment that is also distraction-free and comfortable to boost alertness and productivity.

At the leading edge of a new wave of schools delivering energy efficiency at scale – Woodmill and St Columba’s RC High School is a high performing Scottish Futures Trust Pathfinder project. The school highlights how sustainable education design not only reduces carbon emissions and energy use but also prioritises the wellbeing, comfort and inclusivity of staff, pupils and the wider community.

Working closely with stakeholders throughout, the £120m school commenced on site in 2022 and was completed in 2024.