A new £9m primary school has opened its doors for the first time.

The new West Linton Primary School consists of 12 spacious classrooms, a nursery, library, gym, multi-use games facility (MUGA) and football pitch.

It was designed by Archial and built by Robertson Construction.

The school will be able to facilitate between 400 and 460 pupils – excluding nursery pupils.

Councillor Sandy Aitchison, Scottish Borders Council's Executive Member for Education, attended the opening.


She said: "This is a state-of-the-art school which will benefit children in the West Linton area for years to come. The Council has invested a significant amount of money in these first class facilities, which will provide an excellent learning environment for the pupils who are incredibly excited about their new surroundings."

Headteacher Hilary Elliott added: "The children had high expectations regarding what they wanted their new school to provide and they communicated their ideas clearly at the beginning of the process.

"They said they wanted a bigger school with bigger classrooms, more smartboards and lots of natural light; they wanted a library, bigger cloakrooms, a bigger playground and a football pitch they could access every day.

"The children have got what they asked for and they, and all staff, now look forward to enjoying the many benefits this wonderful new learning environment provides."

(JP/CD)