The official opening ceremony of a £1.9million primary school at Laxdale in the Western Isles took place yesterday.
The project has provided two brand new pre-school playrooms, a gym and assembly hall, a new canteen and dining area, and external improvements.
The development was designed by Western Isles Council’s in-house building projects team and the construction work, which has been ongoing since June 2018, was carried out by O’Mac Construction Ltd.
Council leader Councillor Roddie Mackay said: “The Comhairle is working to improve all schools throughout the Western Isles, through an estate upgrade and also the expansion of early years, with all schools being taken out of category C and made into category B schools, and most schools being refurbished or planned to be over the next while.
“I am very pleased to see this extension completed to a high standard.”
Councillor Angus McCormack, chairman of education, sport and children’s services, said: “The pupils and staff of the school will reap the benefits of this fantastic facility for many years.
“I am particularly pleased that the nursery class will begin in the school in the next term.
“The Comhairle remains committed to providing our pupils with the best possible facilities in order to enhance and develop their learning opportunities. ”
Teacher Margaret Joan Macleod, who has worked in the school for 28 years, said: “When I started in Laxdale School there was no library, there was no room for the Nursery and Sgoil Àraich, no proper gym and the cafeteria was a canteen in a hut.
“We are very fortunate to be part of a Local Authority that listens to us and ensures that pupils are educated in the best of buildings with the best of facilities.
“It is because they care about our pupils that we have this wonderful extension to our school.”