WALLYFORD’s new £18million primary school will hit capacity within nine years of opening its doors, it has been revealed.

The school, which will have 28 classrooms to accommodate up to 812 primary children and 120 nursery children, is just phase one of what is believed to be needed to meet the growing demand from new housing developments around the village.

A meeting of East Lothian Council’s planning committee has been told additional land has been earmarked for extensions, with plans to ‘build out’ as demand grows.

Councillors were told by officials: “The initial phase of 28 classrooms will meet demand probably until 2027. It will then be built out in stages, with land already fenced off for that.”

The new school is expected to be built by October next year and is expected to have facilities available to local residents, with areas such as the main hall and library being looked at as community spaces.

The committee was asked to approve a number of conditions attached to the application to build the school so it could go forward.

Tributes were paid to staff and pupils at the current school for working in its current condition.

Councillor Jim Goodfellow welcomed the news the school would be ready by next October. He said: “This is a key milestone in meeting that target.”

Ward councillor Stuart Currie said he was looking forward to the day pupils were able to walk into a new school. He said: “I want to pay tribute to the teachers past and present for doing the job they do and putting up with the conditions.”

He added: “The quicker the new school opens the better.”

Fellow ward councillor John Caldwell said he would support the planning conditions, adding: “Wallyford currently requires a new school and with the development coming this helps bring this quicker into our community.”

The new school will be built south of Wallyford Farm Cottages, at Inchview Road. Around £11million of the costs will be met by developers, with £4.5million coming from the Scottish Government and the rest met by East Lothian Council.

The current primary school has a roll of 319 primary pupils and 60 nursery children.