Work is well under way on the new Loretto Golf Academy Indoor Centre.

The new facility, being built within the Musselburgh school’s former swimming complex, is expected to open in time for the start of the autumn term, and will include an indoor driving range, short game facilities and an indoor teaching studio.

And the school hopes that it will “reinforce Loretto’s status as one of the top golf facilities of its kind in the UK”.

All 600 Loretto pupils will be offered a chance to use the new facility, while it will also allow the 50-strong development and senior squad players support to take their game to the next level.

Jonathan Hewat, director of external affairs at Loretto, said: “The golf academy at Loretto is a hugely significant project for us to cement our place as the number one golf programme within the country.

“It’s going to be excellent for all the pupils at the school.

“It’s also going to cement our links with the Scottish Golf Union and, as well as that, be a terrific resource and facility for the whole community.” Meanwhile, Rick Valentine, director of the Loretto Golf Academy, added: “We need to continue to develop year-on-year, to make sure we stay at the top of schools’ golf and leading the field.

“This is both in regard to the programmes we are delivering but also the facilities we have on offer to our pupils.

“One of our main focuses at the moment is to increase the availability of golf to all the pupils at the school, to really deliver golf for all.

“This is really important as we move forward, especially with our younger pupils, to introduce them to a sport that they can be participating in for the rest of their lives.

“To work with the Scottish Golf Union on an indoor training centre that is going to benefit the pupils of Loretto but also Scottish golf in general is a very exciting experience.” And county professional Catriona Matthew, from North Berwick, welcomed the news of the new Loretto facility.

The former British Open winner said: “To have more indoor facilities here would be fantastic and is a great benefit to get people into the game, particularly in the winter. It’s a great opportunity and I wish I’d had that when I was younger.”