Renfrewshire Council and its architects will hold focus groups as part of the planning for a second school to cater for Bishopton’s Dargavel Village.

The informal events will be organised in a bid to capture initial feedback from a small group ahead of two public events scheduled in August and September.

The local authority is keen to hear from prospective parents at the new school, those involved in community groups who may use the facilities and people with experience of working in a school as part of the process.

Gerry Lyons, interim head of education, said: “We are committed to involving the local community in the design and planning of the new school and community facilities.

“The designs produced so far have been led by extensive feedback from the local community – gathered during the space-planning exercise carried out in late 2023 and the formal consultation into the new school held earlier this year.

“As part of the next stage of that, we are running two public events, where you are invited to see the designs as they stand, meet the team behind the project and give your views.”

He added: “As part of the same process, we and our architects are also running a series of focus groups on the emerging designs.

“These will be informal events designed to capture initial feedback from a small group ahead of the bigger public events mentioned above.”

The focus group is likely to be held one evening during the week commencing August 5 at the existing Dargavel Primary School in Arrochar Drive.

The new school will be built on land at the north end of Craigton Drive and is expected to open in the summer of 2027.

Once the full planning application is submitted later this year, there will be more formal consultation with the relevant bodies and an opportunity for residents to make representations.

Meanwhile, the council’s handling of the Dargavel Primary debacle is set to be discussed in public by a watchdog for a second time next month.

A follow-up report on the saga – which saw the existing school built too small – is due to be considered by the Accounts Commission on Thursday, August 8.

It could cover key areas which auditors were asked to probe further after an initial Section 102 report on the fiasco was published earlier this year.