Campaigners who fought for a replacement for the dilapidated previous Elgin High School say they have had their hopes fulfilled by the new buildings.
The project was first suggested in 2001 amid proposals to combine both secondary schools in the town into single campus.
When those plans were abandoned it was originally suggested that the previous buildings would be refurbished and expanded.
However, a replacement school was finally approved in 2015 after that vision proved too expensive.
Yesterday, Bill Hope, who was head teacher at the previous Elgin High from 1978 to 2003, described the new school as “wonderful”.
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He said: “It’s a building for its time, which is exactly what it should be. It’s got everything it needs – most importantly a modern heating system.
“In the old school I had to come up with a crazy one-way system in the corridors. The new one will have the space that everyone needs.”
Elgin City South councillor John Divers, who pressed for the school from 2001, said: “When you look at how much Elgin could grow in the future it’s clear we would always have needed two new secondary schools.
“If we had combined them into one we would have had to build another anyway.
“You can see the atmosphere in the new school bringing out the pupils’ enthusiasm. They enjoyed the old buildings but the new space now brings it out more.”
