The school is being built as part of the Wallyford Secondary Learning Campus. The campus brings together school and further education, library and community facilities with health and wellbeing services. Main construction works began in August 2021 and the £47.2m facility is on time and on budget ahead of site handover in June 2023.

The school will be the first part of the campus to open when it welcomes its first intake in August with other areas of the building opening in the months thereafter.

Cabinet member for Education and Children’s and Family Services Councillor Fiona Dugdale visited the school to mark the start of the countdown and to meet with staff and some of the young people who will be the school’s first learners.

Councillor Dugdale said: “It’s great to be alongside the school’s first learners and its new staff team to mark this exciting occasion.

“The progress on site has been incredible and I can see a marked difference since I last visited a few months ago. With the internal and external scaffolding down it’s a great opportunity to appreciate the size and scale of the building and the way that the light-filled spaces flow. The most important aspect is the opportunities that our investment in this campus will offer our learners and our community. The new academic year will be a momentous one for everyone connected with Wallyford.”

Rosehill High School has been built to accommodate a growing secondary school roll arising from residential development in the catchment area. Alongside modern teaching and social spaces, the school includes The Brae, a specialist provision for secondary age young people with severe and complex needs who live across the county and a dedicated Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) centre. The wider Wallyford Learning Campus includes a library, community centre and spaces for health and wellbeing.

Almost 300 S1-S3 pupils will join the school from August with a projected future pupil roll of 1000+ across S1-S6. The shared nature of the campus environment offers the school and its pupils the opportunity to work closely with further education and community partners in an inspiring and modern space fit for learning.

Rosehill High School Head Teacher Gail Preston added: “This a significant milestone and I’m delighted to be reaching it in the company of our extended leadership team, as well as some of our incoming young people. Staff will be working hard throughout this term to support transition and curriculum development, with a significant focus on their own professional learning to ensure highest quality learning experiences for our community. It’s been a huge team effort across East Lothian Council and beyond to get to this stage, and the next few weeks with be crucial in terms of the growth and development of the education provision on this impressive site.”

East Lothian Council’s development partner Hub South East is delivering the project with contractor Morrison Construction. Both organisations have developed a number of high quality facilities in the county including the award-winning Wallyford Primary School that neighbours the campus site.