Balfour Beatty has been appointed by the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver the new Portobello High School.
The £28m school will be the largest high school in Edinburgh, serving 1,400 pupils in the existing catchment area.
Balfour Beatty will be responsible for the design and construction of the new three storey school which will have a total floor area of approximately 16,800m2 and will include a swimming pool and two all-weather sports pitches.
Councillor Paul Godzik, Convener of Education, Children and Families, the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “It is great to see construction works now starting on the long-awaited new Portobello High School which will be ready for the start of the academic year in August 2016.
"We are pleased to be working with Balfour Beatty on this project which will allow us to deliver high quality educational and sports facilities that I know will be welcomed by both the school and wider local community.”
Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty Delivery Unit Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to be awarded the contract to construct the new Portobello High School. We look forward to continuing to work with the City of Edinburgh Council to deliver a state-of-the-art school with educational facilities that give people the best opportunities to both teach and learn.
"During the construction period we will engage with the local community to keep them updated with the progress of the works and to deliver community benefit targets leaving a lasting legacy for the area.
Mobilisation for the project is underway with the main construction works due to start in October 2014. The new school is scheduled to be open for pupils in August 2016.