Heriot Primary School celebrates new extension with visit from special guest
Monday, November 19 2007
Staff and pupils at Heriot Primary school recently welcomed their first special guest to the school since opening their new state-of-the-art extension.
Executive member for Education, Councillor Catriona Bhatia, was greeted by Headteacher Katharine McQuillin and five members of the Pupil Council for a special tour of the new facility which now accommodates a brand new multi-purpose hall and kitchen.
The new space will not only be used by the school as their new dining room, assembly and gym hall but the playgroup will now enjoy their own dedicated facilities including a small kitchen area, specially designated wet play area and adjacent storage room. A folding partition in the middle of the hall provides 150m2 of multi-purpose space for both the school and nursery to enjoy.
Councillor Bhatia was impressed with the new facility and explained why the school badly needed the space: “Heriot is one of our rural schools with a stable and now rising roll. Pupil numbers have risen here over the years to the point that additional accommodation was badly needed. Last summer a temporary classroom unit was provided but the school still lacked easily accessible assembly and gym facilities. I am delighted to be here today to see the finished result. The building is a fantastic design and all credit goes to SBC’s architects for their great work. It is clear that the staff and pupils are extremely excited and grateful to have such a wonderful modern facility and I am sure it will be put to great use.”
Work commenced on the building in March this year and is funded through SBC’s Capital programme. The project was designed and supervised by SBC’s in-house architects within Technical Services Department and the main contractor for the project was John Dennis & Co (Scotland) Ltd.
SBC’s Supervising Officer David Baptie explained his aim for the project: “The intention was to provide a building constructed of as many sustainable materials as possible. The building is generally a highly insulated timber frame and large areas of external wall are clad with larch lining. The pitched slated roof and rendered blockwork gables mirror the features on the existing building. Close co-operation between the main Contractor and school staff enabled the project to run smoothly with minimal disruption to either party, so we are very pleased.”
Headteacher at Heriot, Katharine McQuillin, added: “From the colour of the walls to the clever design features, this new facility is exactly what we could have hoped for. The staff and pupils are already enjoying the extra space for various activities and the playgroup is also delighted to have their own designated facilities. The extension blends so well with the rest of the school and this has given staff and pupils a huge lift.”
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