Pupils on song at East Calder Primary opening

The state-of-the-art school welcomed pupils from August 2024, after being completed on time and on budget.

Invited guests joined pupils and staff at the new school for a short ceremony, which featured musical performances from the East Calder Alumni brass band and enthusiastic singing by pupils from the school.    

Leader of West Lothian Council Lawrence Fitzpatrick, who unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion, said: "It's a huge honour to open this fantastic new school for young people in East Calder, and thanks to the pupils, staff and whole school community for welcoming everyone.

"You can already see the benefits that a new school brings as a platform for the delivery of quality education.

"The previous school building served the East Calder community since 1935, so I hope that the new school will also support local young people to achieve their full potential for many generations to come."

East Calder Headteacher Fiona Stewart added: "Thank you to everyone who came along to celebrate the opening of our fabulous new East Calder Primary School.

"The superb new building has been hugely welcomed by everyone in the school community and is already having a positive impact on our young learners with our new learning spaces not only supporting academic achievement but allowing us to nurture creativity, collaboration and critical-thinking for our learners." 

The new school was delivered on behalf of the council by development partner Hub South East with Morrison Construction as the lead contractor. It was required as the previous school, which opened in 1935, was no longer suitable for the delivery of high-quality education.

It has been jointly funded by Scottish and Local Government as part of the Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP), which is administered by the Scottish Futures Trust. 

Works to demolish the previous school building are ongoing, with the recently-built Early Years extension being retained.