Deanestor fits out £14m Primary School in West Lothian

Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading fitout specialists, has provided bespoke furniture and fitout services for a new £14m primary school in West Lothian.

The new Calderwood Primary was built by Morrison Construction Building Central and delivered by hub South East for West Lothian Council. It provides non-denominational primary education for up to 462 pupils and 128 nursery places – and was handed over ahead of the revised programme despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deanestor manufactured and installed around 1,250 items of bespoke fitted furniture for this project, including learning walls, storage cabinets, adjustable shelving units, tilting craft tables, shoebox storage, and worktops.

Around 3,000 items of loose seating, furniture and equipment were also procured and fitted by Deanestor for this project – from sports equipment and dining benches to lockers, white goods, pinboards, soft seating, banquettes, and bespoke wooden huts to provide seating and storage in different areas around the school.

Greig Jamieson, Commercial Director at Hub South East Scotland, said: “Deanestor contributed greatly to the fantastic project that is Calderwood Primary School which was handed over early to West Lothian Council. This was a particularly impressive feat given the challenging market conditions.”

“Feedback has been incredibly positive, and it is encouraging to see how excited pupils and staff are to begin their learning journey in their new school. We look forward to building on this success with Deanestor on further projects including the new Winchburgh Schools.”

Leader of West Lothian Council, Lawrence Fitzpatrick said: “The stunning new Calderwood Primary is a flagship addition to our school estate, which is already one of the best in the country. It has been designed and built with the learning experience at its heart and will help to create a focus for the new Calderwood community. There have been many challenges to deliver such a fine school against the backdrop of a global pandemic, so huge thanks to the project team and all the other contractors for their efforts to complete it on budget and ahead of the revised schedule.”

Designed by JM Architects, the new school features semi-open plan classroom accommodation with adjacent break-out zones and a series of flexible, interchangeable spaces. This educational environment is designed to encourage collaborative learning and to allow pupils of all ages to interact and learn from each other.

A maple finish was specified for most of the fixed furniture which contrasts with a mixed palette of colours for the loose furniture. Some of the linear storage was finished in white or with lilac coloured fronts in the staff rooms.

The fitout contract at Calderwood Primary follows Deanestor’s successful delivery of a £1m project for Morrison Construction for the manufacture and installation of fixed furniture for Barony Campus in East Ayrshire – a £68m, 2,500-pupil school. Deanestor has since been awarded the £1.8m furniture and fitout contract for a new £60m multi-school campus in West Lothian – its 12th contract for Morrison.

Deanestor manufactures and installs bespoke, robust, and flexible loose and fixed furniture solutions for early years, primary, SEN, and secondary education, fitting out areas such as classrooms, science laboratories, ICT, design and technology, atria, social dining spaces, break-out areas, sports facilities and changing rooms. Its experienced designers and project managers work with architects, contractors and directly with schools and local authorities, advising on specification of furniture and equipment to help deliver inspirational learning environments.