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New Alness Academy school building opens for the first time


By Alasdair Fraser

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Alness Academy house captains (left to right) Marisska Slupek and Maria MacKay outside the new state of the art school building
Alness Academy house captains (left to right) Marisska Slupek and Maria MacKay outside the new state of the art school building

Alness Academy pupils took a step into the future on Wednesday as they set foot in their new multi-million school building for the first time.

As well as providing an ultra-modern learning environment for 660 students and their teachers on two storeys, the state of the art building features impressive sports facilities.

A shared community use building houses a six-lane, 25-metre swimming pool, while there is a four-court games hall, gymnasium, two floodlit 3G pitches and playing fields.

The development is part of the Scottish Government’s Scotland’s Schools for the Future programme, managed by the Scottish Futures Trust.

Alness Academy’s acting headteacher Donald MacRae said: “I am thrilled to welcome our pupils into our amazing new school building this morning.

“We have been looking forward to this day and now our school community can enjoy the facilities that our new home has to offer.

“This is a very exciting day for us and our local community”.

Councillor John Finlayson, Highland Council’s education committee chair, said: “Today is an exciting day for the school, it’s pupils, its staff, and the wider Alness community.

“There has been a tremendous amount of work that has gone into the school’s construction.

“I would like to thank each individual who has helped us reach today and to our partners Hub North Scotland and Kier Construction for their delivery of this fantastic building.

“It offers a modern 21st century learning environment which I am sure is welcomed and appreciated by everyone associated with the Alness Academy catchment area.”

Stewart Small, the project director for Hub North Scotland, the development partner who delivered the school on behalf of the council, said: “We are delighted to reach this landmark after a lot of hard work by all involved.

“This new building has already created many community benefits through jobs for long-term unemployed, valuable work experience opportunities and contracts for small and medium-sized businesses.

“It is a magnificent facility which will be enjoyed by pupils and the Alness community for many years to come.”

Phil McDowell, regional director for Kier Regional Building in Scotland, said: “We are delighted to hand over the new building and amenities at Alness Academy.

“Over the past two years, we have worked collaboratively with The Highland Council and Hub North Scotland to deliver first-class facilities that will aid development and allow pupils to thrive.

“We are proud to have supported local communities in the highlands over the duration of this project, having created 12 jobs, provided nearly 40 training opportunities and carried out four community projects.

“This demonstrates the commitments we made to The Highland Council at the start of this process and supports our aim to leave lasting legacies in the areas where we build.

“We hope students and the wider community enjoy using these state-of-the-art facilities at Alness Academy for years to come.”

The new Alness Academy is a 9475 square metre secondary school replacing the existing facility on the same site, directly to the east of the previous school.

The old buildings will be demolished to allow completion of the site.

The L-shaped teaching block has 14 general teaching classrooms, six science labs and other associated science facilities.

There are three arts and ceramic classrooms, technologies and business classrooms, workshops, music and drama rooms, a hair and beauty salon, and a traditional teaching kitchen for home economics.

There are also a number of additional support needs classrooms and associated facilities.

The classrooms and breakout areas surround a double height assembly, dining, and drama space with a central open plan learning resource centre. Substantial glazing and rooflights have been designed to bring natural light and ventilation into the heart of the building.

Use of the sports facilities will be shared between the school and the community.

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