School to be refurbished
West Coats Primary has announced the dates for parents to enrol their children to start school next August.
Children whose fifth birthday falls between March 1, 2015, and the end of February 2016, should be registered for school during the week beginning Monday, January 12, 2015.
A school spokesman said: “If you are in our catchment area we look forward to seeing you. It is only the parent the child ordinarily stays with who is authorised to register them.
“Please remember to bring your child’s full birth certificate with you and two official pieces of documentation both containing permanent home address eg utility bill, council tax statement, housing rent card, child benefit documentation or bank statement.”
Enrolment will be by appointment so those intending to register should contact the school office on 641 1384 to make an appointment, starting week beginning January 5, 2015.
West Coats Primary School in Cambuslang is set for a revamp under the local authority’s schools modernisation project.
While other schools in the area have been demolished and rebuilt from scratch under South Lanarkshire Council’s £800m investment programme, the school on Brownside Road is different due to the fact it is a listed building.
However, the council will still be able to modernise parts of the school.
Lynn Sherry, head of education at South Lanarkshire, said: “Being a listed building, the external fabric and stonework of West Coats Primary School will be retained and restored, however new roofing, windows and guttering will be installed.
“With regard to the school interior, major design features will be retained.
“Classrooms, office space, games hall, dining facilities and other ancillary accommodation will be created to the same, high specification as those in the primary school modernisation programme’s new build schools.
“New external playground and outdoor learning areas will also be introduced that should provide a positive playtime and enhance children’s learning experiences.”
When the work gets underway, pupils from West Coats will be transferred to the old Cairns Primary School - currently being used by St Bride’s pupils until their new school is completed later this month.
West Coats underwent a radical transformation at the turn of the 2000s, with the opening of a new extension in 2003.
The gym hall and the sheds at the bottom of the upper playground were demolished, and the ground between the two playgrounds flattened. The old dinner hall, as well as the huts which were rooms 18, 19, 20 and 21, also vanished.
The old grey fire escape, where, over the years, many youngsters had tried to shelter from the wet weather and had used it for their games, also vanished from the side of the building. In their place appeared a steel skeleton, forming a dome shape, as the months of construction work turned into years.
The building phase was completed in early 2003, and on Monday, April 28 that year, the new extension came into use for pupils and staff.
The official opening took place in November 2003, when then head teacher Barbara Lindsay welcomed the pupils and guests along to the school, before a commemorative plaque was unveiled by South Lanarkshire Council’s education resources chair Mary Smith, and deputy provost Russell Clearie.