Morrison Construction was appointed to build the £8.6 million primary school, which is being funded entirely through developers’ contributions. Planning approval has been granted for 800 new homes at Letham Mains leading to the requirement for a new primary school.

The foundations and concrete base have been completed and the steel frame will shortly be erected. As part of the project’s commitment to sustainability, 800 tonnes of ground soil taken from the site have been moved to other projects in the county including to a BMX track at Musselburgh.

Cabinet member for education, Councillor Shamin Akhtar, visited the site to meet with Morrison Construction’s team.

She said: “It’s great to see the progress that is being made on the new school. Haddington is growing with people choosing to live here because it’s a lovely Town with beautiful natural settings and good transport links within the county and wider region. It’s important that we keep up with the pace of growth, have facilities in place to accommodate it and ensure our wider community benefits from it. I look forward to returning to Letham Mains Primary School later in the construction process as it continues to take shape.”

Morrison Construction project director, Jim Hanna, said: “It was great to be joined by representatives of East Lothian Council on site so they could see the good progress we are making.  With groundworks and foundations complete, we are now underway with the steel frame for the new building which will start to provide the community with a sense of what the school will look like once delivered.

“Morrison Construction is committed to minimising the impact of our activities on the environment and local community. Already during the project we have been able to divert hundreds of tonnes of soil from landfill for reuse at Musselburgh, and we look forward to maintaining a proactive approach to sustainability throughout our time at Letham Mains.”

Letham Mains Primary School will have 14 classrooms suitable for pre-school and primary teaching, a dining hall, social space and a two court PE hall with retractable seating for performance and community use. The external areas will be designed for outdoor learning, PE and play.

Construction is due to be completed in summer 2020.