The opening of the school was initially planned for August 1997 and included plans for a footpath running directly from the school grounds across the field to the west and joining onto the footpath which goes from Edinburgh Road up the site of the old bing towards Covenanter Road in Eastfield. The land needed for this footpath hadn't been included in the initial sale of farmland and the council entered negotiations with the farmer, these were unsuccessful but had delayed the planning permission process by two years.