Leader of East Dunbartonshire Council, Councillor Rhondda Geekie, officially opened the new Lenzie Meadow Primary School and Early Years Centre at a ceremony at the new school building on Thursday, 13 October 2016.
During the ceremony Councillor Geekie was joined by Lenzie Meadow pupils Ben and Bluebell to reveal the commemoration plaque declaring the school officially open.
Councillors, teachers, building partners and pupils attended to mark the occasion within the fantastic new building, the second to be built as part of the Council’s £48m Primary School Improvement Programme (PSIP).
Speaking at the ceremony, Council Leader Rhondda Geekie, said, “Representing an investment of almost £11.5m, including £5m funding through the Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme, each part of this new school is designed to support the on-going implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. This new school is a real testimony to what can be achieved through working in partnership as every one of our partners has made a significant contribution. I must admit that we are all very proud of this building and what has been achieved.”
The new school has been built on the site of the old Lenzie Moss Primary and is a merger of both Lenzie Moss and Lenzie Primary Schools. It is home to 568 pupils and 58 pre-school children in the new early years centre.
The design concept was developed through close consultation with parents, pupils and teachers and is based on the new Lairdsland Primary School building, the first of the Council’s PSIP schools which has been established as a reference design for primary schools in Scotland. Each part of the school is designed to support on-going implementation of Curriculum for Excellence with flexible, open learning spaces that support the many different approaches to learning including class teaching, project work and individual learning. The school also boasts the latest in technology with the inclusion of LCD touchscreens as well as Wi-Fi throughout the building.
Councillor Geekie, said, “This has been a lovely celebration to mark the opening of this new school. The performances from the Lenzie Meadow strings and woodwind groups were absolutely outstanding, especially as many of the musicians have only just started learning their instruments. I was also very impressed with the Lenzie Meadow choir who sang ‘Shine a Light’ beautifully, it was a fantastic performance.”
She continued, “Both the communities of Lenzie Moss and Lenzie Primary Schools have come together seamlessly and it was very encouraging to see such positive energy and enthusiasm from both the pupils and teachers this evening. I would like to thank the whole school community who engaged with this development every step of the way and our building partners for helping us to deliver a modern, bright and inspirational learning environment for the children of Lenzie.”
Grant Robertson, schools programme director at the Scottish Futures Trust, explained: “We are delighted to see East Dunbartonshire Council use our award winning design concept once more for the Lenzie Meadow Primary school. The Council first used this new design approach on Lairdsland Primary School in Kirkintilloch which in turn has gone on to win numerous architecture and design awards since opening in 2015. Lairdsland has gone down a storm with pupils and teachers alike and from speaking to pupils and teachers from Lenzie Meadow, they’ve said this is a brilliant school.
“Our reference design is also being used by many other councils across Scotland which is helping them get their new schools built sooner and which saves them money as well.”
Chief Executive Officer of hub West Scotland, Iain Marley, said, “Lenzie Meadow Primary is the second primary school that we have delivered through our partnership with East Dunbartonshire Council. We are thrilled to help realise the Council’s strategy to create high quality learning facilities and proud to make a positive contribution to the communities they serve.”
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