West Lothian Council has taken ownership of a newly completed £14.3 million state-of-the art school at Calderwood.

The project was delivered on behalf of the council by its development partner Hub South East, with Morrison Construction as the primary contractor, the same team behind the successful delivery of the nearby award-winning West Calder High School.

Construction work was unable to start as planned due to Covid-19, which meant the building was not expected to be ready until 2022. However, a fantastic effort by all those involved in the construction and oversight will see pupils attending earlier than anticipated.

Leader of West Lothian Council Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: "We are absolutely delighted to accept the stunning new Calderwood Primary school as a flagship addition to our school estate, which is already one of the best in the country.

"The new school has been designed and built with the learning experience at its heart, and will help create a focus for the new Calderwood community. We know all the parents and carers in the local community will be delighted to have such an excellent facility on their doorstep.

"There have been many challenges to deliver such a fine school against the backdrop of a global pandemic, so huge thanks to Hub South East, Morrison Construction, jmarchitects and all the other contractors for their efforts to complete it on budget and ahead of the revised schedule."

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The new Calderwood Primary will provide non-denominational primary education for up to 462 primary and 128 nursery pupils.

It is required to cope with increasing demand in the growing Calderwood Core Development Area, which is expected to see up to 2,400 new homes built, as well as associated infrastructure improvements when complete.

Greig Jamieson, Hub South East's Commercial Director, said: "It's fantastic to be marking the early handover of this innovative new learning space. Feedback has been incredibly positive and It's encouraging to see how excited pupils and staff are to begin their learner journey in their new school.

"The new Calderwood Primary is a state-of-the-art facility built to a high quality, but more importantly, it's a space designed to encourage innovative learning and provide the right platform for its young people to reach their full potential.

"Building upon the successful delivery of the award-winning West Calder High School, we are delighted to further strengthen our successful partnership with West Lothian Council, and we look forward to assisting our client with the continued major investment in its learning estate." 

Eddie Robertson, Managing Director of Morrison Construction Building Central, commented: "Our long-term partnership with West Lothian Council and Hub South East has seen us deliver an impressive portfolio of schools over the last few years, and Calderwood Primary is no exception. 

"Through fantastic collaboration with all the stakeholders involved, we are proud to have delivered this high-quality facility and played our part in establishing a new school community in East Calder."

The innovative design of Calderwood Primary by jmarchitects has sustainability and suitability as core objectives.

Ciaran Quinn, Senior Architect with jmarchitects said: "jmarchitects are delighted to have been involved with such a prestigious project, working in close collaboration from the outset with West Lothian Council, Morrison Construction and Hub South East to propose a design approach based on key themes and design drivers.

"It has been a real team effort throughout the whole project to ensure that the client brief and project aspirations were achieved."