Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Video: Pupils finally ready to settle in at £55 million Inverurie Academy

To the skirl of the pipes, pupils took their first steps through the doors of the new £55 million home of Inverurie Academy.

The Inverurie Community Campus was originally planned to open to both residents and pupils in spring, only for the pandemic to significantly delay construction.

But today,  pupils from Inverurie Academy were welcomed to their new home within the site with a socially-distanced ceremony, complete with a bagpiper.

Youngsters with additional support needs who attend the St Andrew’s School will officially move into their new school within the campus building next month.

Hannah Reid, a 16-year-old sixth year pupil at Inverurie Academy, said she can’t wait to start classes in her new school.

The keen trumpet player said the new facilities will be better for those studying music, like her.

Hannah Reid.

“It’s absolutely amazing-looking,” Hannah said.

“It’s massive and has so many facilities. I’m very excited about it.

“The new auditorium looks amazing and there’s so much new stuff in the gym and I think the new auditorium and the music lesson rooms look a lot bigger and better than the older ones.”

“The old school was lovely, although a bit old, but it doesn’t compare to the new school.” Hannah added: “Learning has been a bit different in the pandemic. It’s not been super-hard, but it’s been different nonetheless.”

The campus, located close to the former Inverurie Academy building in the town, will cater to 1,600 pupils.

Its sports and leisure facilities will be run by Live Life Aberdeenshire, the organisation that operates Aberdeenshire Council’s sporting and cultural services.

Head teacher Mark Jones.<br />Picture by Kenny Elrick 26/10/2020

Inverurie Academy’s head teacher Mark Jones said: “We feel like we’re opening a new chapter for Inverurie Academy, both in terms of the new facilities and the fact we can share them with community partners like Live Life Aberdeenshire, St Andrew’s School and a number of groups and clubs.

“We bring a huge amount of history and heritage from the old Inverurie Academy, as the old building across the way is over 110 years old, but I’m so excited this group of students and staff will help us start the next chapter.

“There’s a real wow factor to the learning and teaching areas. You name it, from science to sport, there are better opportunities for learning.”

Tara Kennedy, a teacher from the St Andrew’s School, said: “The new facilities are going to be so good for the children.

“The sensory rooms are so much more advanced than what we’ve previously had.

“The old facilities were starting to get a bit old. This will be much more modern and there’s just so much technology in each classroom.

“I think all being together and sharing the facilities, and being truly part of the community and not out on our own, will really be wonderful.”

The council’s education committee chairwoman Gillian Owen, and vice-chairwoman Rosemary Bruce, were among those at the ceremony.

Mrs Owen said: “It’s absolutely remarkable.

“You only have to look at the fantastic building to see how lucky the community is to have this not only as an educational facility, but also as a community campus.

“I think Inverurie residents will just love coming in and having a look.

“The pool will be fantastic for everybody and community groups can use it for their monthly meetings.

Ms Bruce added: “It’s got such brilliant facilities, as you would expect from a modern campus, with the theatre, pool, sports equipment and social spaces for young people as well.

“There’s been an awful lot of downsides from the pandemic for children, so to have a new facility they can move into, that they’ve seen being built up, and actually be inside this week will be just fantastic for them.”