Park Mains High School update
Wednesday 25 June 2025
Park Mains High School view of new annexes
PMHS expansion latest update
Dear parent or carer

As you know we are currently redesigning and expanding Park Mains High School in the years ahead and I wanted to write to you before the end of term with an update on that.

This update is being sent to all current parents and carers at Park Mains, as well as those at the seven associated primary schools (Bargarran, Barsail, Bishopton, Dargavel, Inchinnan, Langbank and Rashielea).

What’s being built

The school is being expanded and redesigned to meet an expected rise in pupil numbers over the years ahead. This will increase the capacity by around 400 pupils, to 2,000.

The work is planned to be complete for August 2027 and will include:

  • A new teaching building next to the existing west wing of the school 
  • A new PE building next to the existing PE block with two extra sports halls and changing rooms, plus an upgraded fitness suite in the main building 
  • An extension to the dining area with new furniture, and covered outdoor area to the courtyard
  • Changes to the existing building to add extra teaching spaces and keep subjects together, and add extra toilets and staff areas
  • Expanded bus drop-off/pick-up area and extra car parking with additional electric-vehicle charging points
  • New facilities including a bespoke drama studio, sensory garden and outdoor teaching amphitheatre

My team at council HQ have been working closely with Mr Dick and his team at the school to carefully plan the changes to make sure the redesigned school continues to be an excellent facility for pupils and staff.

I know he and his team are looking forward to the additional facilities – and additional subject choice – the expanded school will be able to offer.

As a former head teacher myself, this is a building I would have liked to have worked in, and I am confident this will be a great facility for pupils, staff and the wider community.

The architects' images below show some of the planned changes to the school. The design work you can see is based on space-planning work done in late-2023, and factors in views captured from staff, pupils, parents and carers, and community groups who use the building, about what does and doesn't work well currently, and what you wanted from an expanded Park Mains.
Park Mains High School plan of redesigned school
A plan of the redesigned school. You can see the location of the new facilities, as follows:
1. the new teaching amphitheatre
2. the new teaching annexe
3. the dining area extension
4. the new PE annexe
5. the covered courtyard area

Below are some close-up images showing how each will look:
Park Mains High School new teachinjg annexe
The new teaching annexe
Park Mains High School dining extension
The dining extension
Park Mains High School new PE annexe
The PE annexe
Park Mains High School covered courtyard
The covered courtyard
Park Mains High School outdoor teaching ampitheatre
The outdoor teaching amphitheatre
Project update and next steps

In late 2024, we ran two public events as part of our pre-planning-application submission where we asked for views on the designs you can see above.

The feedback we gathered has been factored into the content of the planning application for the expanded school, which is due to be submitted soon.

You can see the boards we presented at those events on our website:  
Read more info on Park Mains and see the event boards
Since then, we have appointed Morrison Construction on a pre-construction services contract, and they have appointed a design team, led by Holmes Miller.

Both firms have worked on high-profile projects across the UK, and have extensive experience of school buildings, including ones where existing schools have been extended and reconfigured while still in use, as Park Mains will be.

We are now working with the contractors to further develop the initial designs produced by our own in-house architects, and plan the build to make sure all goes smoothly.

We expect construction to start by summer 2026, with the new buildings planned to be in use for the start of the 2027/28 school year.

This is being planned carefully to ensure there is no disruption to education in the school itself, with much of the work inside the existing building being done in phases and planned for during school holidays where possible.

We have also continued to meet with the Park Mains Liaison Group, which includes representatives from the parent councils of Park Mains and associated primary schools, to discuss progress on the project.

While I know the work is a while away yet, we would be happy to take any questions you have – you can reach my team via pmhspanfeedback@renfrewshire.gov.uk

We will continue to keep you up to date on the project as we get closer to the time. I hope you found this update useful and I wish you all a great summer break. 

Gerard McLaughlin
Head of Education
Renfrewshire Council 
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Renfrewshire Council, Paisley, PA1 3EU

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