Lord David Steel returns for official opening of extension at Tweedbank Primary School
Ally McGilvray • Published 1 Jun 2011 09:30
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At Plaque - Councillor David Parker (Leader of SBC) and Headteacher of Tweedbank Primary School, Alyson Weir. Ribbon Cutting - Back row (L to R): Lord David Steel (who opened the school originally in 1976), Councillor David Parker (Leader of SBC), Councillor George Turnbull (Executive Member for Education) and Alyson Weir (Headteacher); Front Row (L to R) - Jamie Bell, Ally Turnbull and Lily Stewart.
SCOTTISH Borders Council leader David Parker officially opened the new extension to the primary school in Tweedbank this week - and then revealed it was like stepping in to a whole new school.
The local councillor joined pupils, parents and guests at a special ceremony to celebrate the completion of the £1.5million project at the 221 pupil school on Monday.
He held the ribbon as primary one pupil Ally Turnbull, pictured with a pair of scissors, officially declared the new building open.
It boasts two new classrooms, toilets, cloakrooms, a meeting room, reception area and offices; and eases concerns with overcrowding at the school which was forced to draft in some Portakabins to accommodate all of its pupils last year.
Speaking to the Border Telegraph after the ceremony this week, Councillor Parker, who revealed the work also included the installation of a new heating system, said: "All the schools in the Borders are different but this is quite a unique one because the building work went on whilst the children were still very much in class and the teachers had to put up with a huge amount.
"Tweedbank is a very special school because it was always designed to be at the heart of the community and has acted as a catalyst for development in the village."
But he added: "We have carried out a complete refurbishment of the school, added two new classrooms, a new reception area, meeting room, new state-of-the-art kitchen, and many of the other classrooms were refurbished, the hall was changed, the heating systems were changed - really pretty much the whole fabric of the building has been altered, so there has been a very big change but a very worthwhile one which has provided a pretty good school at the end of the day."
Last year, we revealed primary six and seven pupils were forced to learn in makeshift classrooms, housed in temporary buildings, following problems with overcrowding at the school.
But the new extension, which includes new interactive whiteboards and smart lighting, a grass roof, and goat's hair carpet, increases the school's capacity from 179 to 230 with the option to expand the building further.
Headteacher Alyson Weir said: "The pupils are absolutely delighted with it and so are the staff. It's been very exciting but quite challenging at the same time.
"They just love the interactive white boards that we now have in every classroom. It's also got a cedar roof which attracts wildlife and goat's hair in the carpets to make it warmer."
The school sang a song, entitled Tweedbank is such a lovely place, to mark the occasion before Councillor Parker unveiled a commemorative plaque to declare the new extension officially open.
Mrs Weir said: "It is the aim of every teacher here and every parent in our school community for pupils to achieve beyond their wildest expectations." And she added: "Our beautiful new building will contribute significantly to that goal."
The work to refurbish and extend the school, much of which was carried out by Border Construction Ltd, began in May last year.
And, despite several delays, parents this week insisted it was worth the wait.
Steven Robertson, chairman of Tweedbank Parent Council, said: "It's been very difficult for the parents and the pupils because the school has been a building site for 18 months but to see it now is tremendous.
"The new extension has nearly doubled the size of the school and has given the children and teachers decent sized classrooms and the facilities inside are just fantastic.
"There was some delay but it was definitely worth the wait. The day they moved in to the new rooms was a great day for the school and Tweedbank as a community as well."
And he added: "My oldest one is disappointed that she is leaving for secondary school because she won't get full use of all the facilities."
Tweedbank primary school was first opened by Sir David Steel in October 1976. And the retired MP returned for the opening of the new extension this week.
Lord Steel said: "I must admit I wasn't thinking that I'd still be around to see this. The whole community has grown enormously over the last 35 years. At that stage only a little bit of Tweedbank was actually built and there were very few facilities here, but now they've got the shop and the restaurant. And the new extension is very, very impressive."
This article appeared in Border Telegraph 31 May 11
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