The rejuvenation of a north-east school’s decades-old technical department has filled pupils with a new enthusiasm for design its head teacher said yesterday.
Banff Academy’s classrooms have undergone a dramatic £800,000 transformation designed to help better prepare pupils for the workplace.
The modernisation was completed in February and pupils have been using the new facilities ever since.
They were officially opened yesterday, however, with Aberdeenshire Council education boss Laurence Findlay and the region’s provost, Bill Howatson, carrying out the did the honours during a ceremony yesterday.
Amidst the two new classrooms are modern equipment, including lathes and drills, laser cutters and 3D printers.
They have enabled pupils to enjoy a realistic and up-to-date experience of a workshop environment.
Student engineers from the Nescol campus in Fraserburgh have also been able to practice their skills on the equipment as part of an agreement that means they can train closer to home.
Alan Horberry, head teacher at Banff Academy, was delighted to show-off his new facilities and said the demonstration of the new equipment by pupils had gone down well.
He said: “The Provost was particularly pleased to see the designs the pupils have been working on.
“The children love the new classrooms, the appetite for design courses is healthy and we’ve also benefited from our partnership with Nescol.
“We have youngsters showcasing a whole range of skills.
“One of the fastest growing sports is rowing and we even have some pupils building their own boats.”
After the official duties were complete, locals were given their own chance to inspect the classrooms for themselves as part of a drop-in session.
Caroline McFarlane is the head teacher of Banff Academy’s design and technology department and said she was delighted with the new look.
She said: “We’re really proud of what we have here and we couldn’t be happier with the changes.
“We are growing as a department and these changes will benefit every student.
“We’re keen to share to what is going on here.”
Macduff councillor and former Banff Academy pupil Mark Findlater said the changes would make a difference, adding: “We now have the tools to make sure our school kids are ready for work.”