New home for Cedarbank brings school together

(News release Hub South East) Livingstone, 28 February 2023 - The school community at Cedarbank School in Livingston have come together to celebrate their superb new state-of-the-art £7 million home.

An official opening took place at the modern, new purpose-built facility in the same campus as the James Young High School, which brings all Cedarbank pupils together under one roof for the first time.

Cedarbank provides quality education for secondary pupils with additional learning needs from around West Lothian, and was previously spread over three locations.

Invited guests were treated to music by talented school pupils, with Executive councillor for education Andrew McGuire unveiling a special plaque to mark the occasion.

Councillor Andrew McGuire said: ‘It’s a huge privilege to be invited to open the amazing new Cedarbank School. The new £7 million Cedarbank School has been specially designed to meet the needs of the pupils, providing the perfect environment to support their learning. West Lothian already has one of the best school estates in Scotland, and this investment will make a positive difference to local children for many years to come.’

Cedarbank Headteacher Carol McDonald added: ‘It was fantastic to welcome everyone to Cedarbank to celebrate the official opening of our school. The school environment has a key part to play in reducing barriers for young people with additional support needs, and our new school’s features such as the acoustic panelling to reduce noise, clear spacious classrooms and easy access to the outdoors, will make a huge difference to our young people. At Cedarbank, we celebrate each individual’s unique strengths, abilities and talents and see our key role as caring for our young people and providing them with a wide range of motivating learning opportunities. The new location of the school has already led to a number of new partnerships which have increased the variety of opportunities available for our learners.’

The excellent new school is part of a £26.5 million investment in schools dedicated to supporting pupils with additional support needs, which will see a new Beatlie School in Livingston built as well as improvements to Ogilvie Campus in Livingston and the Pinewood ASN School in Blackburn.

The project was delivered on time and on budget on behalf of the council by development partner Hub South East and main contractor BAM Construction.

Eileen Mackin, Projects Director for Hub South East, said: ‘The new Cedarbank school is a fantastic modern learning space and it was wonderful to be invited back and see how pupils and staff have settled in and are enjoying this new facility. We were delighted to celebrate the official opening alongside colleagues from BAM Construction and other partners involved in the project’s delivery and we look forward to continuing our successful working relationship with West Lothian Council on future learning estate projects.’

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