People in Bridge of Allan are being given the chance to see how a prominent local building is being turned into a new facility for an independent school.
Fairview International School in the town is giving the local community the opportunity to see the progress made to date on the transformation project of the old historic Royal Hotel.
The event on Tuesday, February 1, which will be open to everyone, forms part of the school’s Chinese New Year celebrations, including a traditional Lion Dance to give blessing to the new building.
The former hotel is an iconic building in Bridge of Allan and following its purchase in June 2021, Fairview International School started the project to restore and transform it to its past glory whilst adapting the facility to become part of the school’s campus.
The building on Henderson Street was originally built in 1842 and the transformation project will see Fairview use the former hotel as a boarding facility alongside additional spaces for learning activities and spaces for community use.
The first phase of the transformation project, which started last summer, is set to be completed in the spring, with key work including essential grounds maintenance, the development of the community area, the development of the first floor living areas and the opening of the pastoral and study spaces.
The open event starts at 4.30pm and offers the first chance to see the work that has been completed to date as well as an update of future plans, ahead of the official opening of the building.
Headteacher David Hicks said: “We are extremely excited to showcase the progress we have made to The Royal to date as we close in on the official launch.
“The building is rich in history, so it is very important to us that we respect that whilst creating a facility for our day students and future boarding students to develop awareness and understanding of the world around them.
“We hope this is a building and project the whole community can be proud of. As part of the event, we wanted to celebrate Chinese New Year with the town, which is why as part of the day there will be a traditional Lion Dance to give blessing to the newly transformed building.”
In 2020 the previous owners said it had been unprofitable as a hotel for some time despite substantial refurbishment and that the coronavirus pandemic had “exacerbated the problem to such an extent that the owners had no intention of reopening in the face of further losses”.
Plans by BofA Property Ltd to convert the hotel into 12 flats and build 14 townhouses in the grounds were approved the same year but proved controversial locally.
Fairview, however bought the site early last year - not the first time the school has stepped in to buy long-established buildings in the town.
The school was established in Bridge of Allan in 2019 when Fairview bought the site of the former Beaconhurst School after it was controversially closed.
Parents and pupils were devastated when Beaconhurst governors announced just days before the 2018 summer break that Beaconhurst’s senior school was being axed and merged with Crieff independent school Morrison’s Academy.
A week later the board then dropped another bombshell by announcing the private school’s nursery and junior departments were also to shut.
Matters became even more complex when the governors of the school - which had a pupil roll of 289 - called in administrators.
An initial campaign by parents, staff and alumni to raise money to buy the school eventually withdrew interest, and it was thought the site may have to be marketed for residential development.
However, Fairview, which was founded in Malaysia, stepped in to buy the school site and then opened its co-educational independent school for children aged five years and above.
