Work progresses well on new high school

Due to open in 2018

The countdown is on for the opening of the new stateof-the-art £32 million West Calder High School.

The project is West Lothian’s largest ever single investment in education, and is on track to welcome pupils from August 2018. Executive councillor for education David Dodds was joined by school pupils and invited guests from the organisations involved in the project for a special ceremony to mark the occasion. Councillor Dodds said: “The new West Calder High School will give a real boost to learning when it opens in a year’s time, and I’m delighted to see the good progress being made. Providing the best possible environment for education can make a real difference to our young people, and the new West Calder High School’s innovative design will help pupils to achieve their full potential.”

Construction work on the school is progressing well with the steel frame of the building and installation of concrete floor slabs now fully completed. Roof cladding is progressing well and all of the roof lights have been installed, with much of the building now weathertight. This has allowed internal partition wall work and electrical and mechanical installation work to begin.

The project for the new school is being delivered for West Lothian Council through Hub South East Scotland, with Morrison Construction appointed to build the new school. Funding for the development is being provided by West Lothian Council and the Scottish Futures Trust’s Schools for the Future programme. Paul McGirk, Hub South East’s chief executive said: “We’re proud to be working in partnership with West Lothian Council to help deliver its biggest single investment in education – one which will provide a unique and inspired learning experience for its young people.”