Pupils and staff have finally moved into their new multi-million school complex in Wick.
Primary pupils paraded across the Caithness town to their long awaited new base at Wick Campus yesterday morning.
The new complex includes a new Wick High School and Newton Park Primary, itself a merger of Pulteneytown and South primaries.
There is also a nursery associated with the primary school and community facilities.
Around 400 pupils and teachers took part in the primary school procession, walking from the Old Pulteneytown Academy building to their new school, led by local bagpiper Alistair Miller and P7 pupil Chester Henry who also plays the pipes.
They led the parade, all dressed in their new school uniforms, along the new pedestrian access and ramp down into the new building, watched by parents and guardians.
Also at the head of the parade was Lillian Wark, head teacher of Newton Park Primary who said: “This is a historic day for us as pupils attending Newton Park Primary School enter the new Wick joint Campus.
“It not only marks the beginning of a new era but final closure of the former Pulteneytown Academy Primary and South Primary schools which have combined last August to become Newton Park Primary School.
“Looking forward, we have also planned an afternoon for parents, grandparents and carers to visit Newton Park Primary on Tuesday 2nd May when the children will be hosts and show their parents around the building.”
Fiona Grant, head teacher of Wick High School added: “The move marks the culmination of months of preparatory work in making the transition from old to new, most recently involving each pupil having a guided tour of the school and community facilities.
“Pupils have been fully briefed on what to expect on their first day in the new school and our website will hold the most up-to-date information for parents and carers.
“Once we have settled in to our new surroundings we will hold an official open day and a series of commemorative events to mark this historic moment.”
The official opening yesterday marks the end of a long-running construction saga.
The campus was originally pencilled in to open in 2014 but the addition of a new primary school pushed it back to 2015.
It has subsequently been hit by a number of “snagging” delays.
