Help Talking-up Scotland keep going

Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going

Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421

From School estate statistics 2026 published today:

Key points

37 school builds or substantial refurbishment projects completed in 2025-26. This brings the total number of school builds or substantial refurbishment projects completed since 2007-08 to 1,193.

2,270 (93.1%) schools in good or satisfactory condition, up 19 schools (1.1 percentage points) since 2025.

652,030 (93.9%) pupils in schools reported in good or satisfactory condition, up 3,656 (1.4 percentage points) since 2025.

2,148 (88.1%) schools with good or satisfactory suitability, down 35 (1.1 percentage points) since 2025.

617,557 (88.9%) pupils in schools with good or satisfactory suitability, down 12,142 (0.9 percentage points) since 2025.

Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-estate-statistics-2026/

To decide how good or otherwise the above is we need comparative figures over time of in other parts of the UK.

So you can say the estate was clearly worse in the early 2000s (Audit Scotland: many schools in serious disrepair in the late 1990s; ~42% poor/bad in 2004 versus 36% in 2007 and only 6.9% poor/bad in 2026 – 6 times as many schools in serious disrepair under Labour.

Sources:

https://audit.scot/docs/central/2007/nr_080320_school_estate_km.pdf http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/20_03_08_schools.pdf

A direct comparison with England is not possible but:

Guardian analysis (December 2024): one in six pupils in schools that either needed major work or had high relative condition need. NAHT survey (April 2026): half of headteachers said parts of their school were out of use or unfit (leaks, mould, toilets, etc.). That is a union poll of heads, not a building survey of all schools. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/apr/28/ngland-schools-unfit-leaks-mould-unusable-toilets

‘One in six (17%) or ‘half’, we’re looking at far more than the 6.9% in Scotland.

Help Talking-up Scotland keep going

Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going

Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421