New Liberton High School Opens as Community Campus Takes Shape
Pupils have moved into the new 1,200-place Liberton High School, the centrepiece of a wider community campus in south Edinburgh.
Staff and pupils at Liberton High School have started the 2026/27 school year in their new building, which has now been handed over to the City of Edinburgh Council.
The 1,200-place secondary school is the first major part of the new Liberton Community Campus to open. Further facilities planned for the site include a community library, GP surgery, café, fitness suite, dance studio, and bookable sports facilities. Opening dates for these additional services have not yet been announced.
What’s Inside the New Liberton High School?
The school has been designed with a mix of classrooms, breakout areas, retreat spaces, and outdoor facilities.
A new 3G synthetic pitch can be used for rugby and football, alongside a multi-use games area. A grass recreation area is also planned once the former Liberton High School building has been demolished.
The new building was delivered by Balfour Beatty and designed by JM Architects.
It has also been built to Passivhaus standards, with the aim of reducing energy use and the need for active heating and cooling. Liberton is one of the Edinburgh school projects being delivered through the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme.
More Than a New School
The longer-term plan is for Liberton Community Campus to bring several local services together on the same site.
Alongside the school, plans include a community library, NHS GP surgery, café, workspaces, and Edinburgh Leisure facilities. The sports provision is expected to include a fitness suite and dance studio that can be booked by the wider community.
The school itself had been preparing pupils and families for the move throughout 2026, with the new academic year beginning on Wednesday 12 August.
The Council says more information about when the remaining community facilities will open will be published separately.
What Happens to the Old School?
Work on the wider site is not finished yet.
The former Liberton High School building is due to be demolished, allowing the remaining outdoor areas to be completed. That includes the planned grass recreation space.
Once the other community services open, the project will move closer to its original aim of creating a combined education, public services, and sports hub for the Liberton area.