CONTRACTORS working around the clock to prepare for the re-opening of Peebles High School this week have been praised.

Scottish Borders Council’s Chief Executive Tracey Logan, said the council has had “every contractor imaginable” working at the school on a daily basis to ensure the safe accommodation of pupils.

She said: “We have had in excess of 60 contractors on site every day since January 6, working together and sacrificing so much of their time, effort, and energy to prepare the school for reopening.

“Many are local and have personal or community connections to the school and it is down to their hard work, commitment and camaraderie that we have managed to do so much in such a short space of time.”

Around 18 different firms were involved with the salvage operation.

As well as making the buildings safe and the decontaminating and cleaning of the smoke-damaged areas, there has been demolition work, reactivating electricity, heating, fire alarms, security alarms, access controls, water supplies, data and communications infrastructure, drainage and CCTV.

There has also been the installation of temporary classrooms and toilets.

And the formation of new corridors and classrooms.

The companies involved over the past two months were SBC Contracts, Renwick & Weir, Irvine Plant Ltd, Robert Wilson & Sons, BMG Networks, Border Safeguard, Belfor, George Beattie & Sons, Border Safe Services, Portakabin, Smith & McMath, Christie Gillespie, CGI, IWS Water Hygiene, FES, Borderloo, Kingdom Security and Portal Security.