Bertha Park residents will soon get the chance to see plans for the Perth area’s long-awaited primary school. The first public display of Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) plans to build a primary school in Bertha Park will take place at Bertha Park High School on August 27 from 4pm to 7pm. A second event will take place at Bertha Park High School on September 14 from 4pm to 7pm.
Project Background and Delays
Bertha Park’s primary and nursery school was initially scheduled to this month - seven years after Bertha Park High School opened to pupils - but a slowdown in housebuilding delayed the project. Primary pupils from Bertha Park have been educated elsewhere, including Ruthvenfield Primary and Pitcairn Primary - which more than doubled its school roll in five years.
In November 2022, Perth and Kinross Council’s Learning and Families Committee approved the establishment of a new primary school at Bertha Park. It was proposed the new primary would have capacity for 434 pupils with 14 classrooms. Building work on the new primary school and nursery at Bertha Park had been scheduled, pending planning approval, to start in November 2024 and finish in June 2026, with pupils starting in August 2026. A budget of £24 million was set aside for the project.
Planning Process and Councillor Input
This week councillors were given the chance to raise any issues for consideration, as part of the planning process. The pre-application report was put before PKC’s Planning and Placemaking Committee on Wednesday, August 12. Perth and Kinross Council has submitted a proposal of application notice to its Planning department to erect a primary school with a playground, grass pitches, a multi-use games area (MUGA) and car park on land 250m south west of Bertha Park High School.
At Wednesday’s meeting, SNP councillor Mike Williamson asked for “due consideration” to be given to the location of the MUGA so it gets maximum sunlight and avoids getting covered in moss. Bailie Williamson said: “Hopefully it is given due consideration to its orientation so that it optimises the amount of sunlight available to it and so the pitch doesn’t end up full of moss and slime mould. And also to the level of drainage that’s required on its outflow on the grass pitches.”
Strathtay ward Conservative councillor Ian James echoed Bailie Williamson’s requests and asked that the council be “cognisant of surrounding residents” following “some minor issues with the High School and residents”.
Revised Timeline and Capacity Challenges
However, the construction of the new school was delayed due to a slowdown in housebuilding at Bertha Park. In November 2025, PKC’s depute leader John Rebbeck - who convenes the Learning and Families Committee - said the new primary was now due to open in August 2028. Work was done at Pitcairn Primary School to provide additional capacity. The number of pupils at the primary school in the village of Almondbank more than doubled from 63 pupils in 2020 to 128 pupils across six classes in 2025.
Addressing Perth and Kinross Council’s Executive Sub-Committee of the Learning and Families Committee in November 2025, headteacher Jenny Ballantine said the increase had been “rapid” and “brought challenges”. Bertha Park High School opened to pupils in August 2019.
