A NEW school facility for children with autism was officially opened last week.

Meadowpark Knox Academy provides for secondary-aged pupils and opened its doors with six pupils at the start of this term.

It has capacity for up to 30 students.

Councillor Shamin Akhtar, East Lothian Council’s cabinet spokesperson for education and children’s services, attended the formal opening of the facility on Friday.

She said: “Meadowpark is enabling more young people from the county who have autism and communication difficulties to stay within the county rather than be placed in provision elsewhere. It has taken some time to get here but we wanted to make sure that we got it right.

“I am very proud of what we have achieved at Meadowpark and I know we wouldn’t be here today without input from parents, professionals and the wider community. I’d like to thank everyone involved for a job very well done.”

Meadowpark has been built at the former Haddington Infant School on the town’s Victoria Road, which closed in 2012.

The new state-of-the-art centre offers a sensory room, activities room, accommodation for learning life skills, and a food court.

Iain Blair, director of Clark Contracts, which oversaw the build, said: “We thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of refurbishing this beautiful listed building to create a modern facility, whilst retaining its original Victorian character.”