School pupils and nursery children in Plains in Airdrie will remember remember the seventh of November this year as today (Wednesday 7 November) marks the first day of class for two fantastic new schools – St David's and Plains Primaries.

 

Three hundred school pupils and 30 nursery children got their first glimpse of education 21^st century-style when the schools opened their doors on their new shared campus for the first time, heralding the start of a new era of education in the village.

 

The schools – which will bring state-of-the-art facilities and benefits to the local community – are part of the first phase of North Lanarkshire Council's Education 2010 project (being progressed in conjunction with Transform Schools (North Lanarkshire) Ltd), which will see a total of 24 new schools opened across North Lanarkshire by 2008. A further phase, with anticipated investment of up to £250 million, is also planned from 2008-12.

 

Today's school openings bring the total number of schools opened under Education 2010 to seventeen – fifteen of which are primaries. Each of the new schools benefit from a host of modern and innovative features and facilities for teaching staff and pupils, creating a state-of-the-art teaching and learning environment for pupils.

 

The Plains shared campus facility boasts a host of modern and innovative features and facilities for teaching staff and pupils, creating two state-of-the-art teaching and learning environments. Although the two schools share the new building, there are completely separate teaching areas and each school also enjoys its own pupil entrances, tutorial rooms, staff rooms, and administration areas.

 

Shared facilities include a noisy/quiet room, interview room, staff resource room, visiting services/medical room, school library and fantastic audio/visual room. The gym/assembly hall, dining/general purpose area, changing areas and the floodlit all-weather pitch will also be shared. In addition, a general purpose community room will be available for use by community workers and local groups during the day and in the evenings.

 

Significantly, use of the leisure and community facilities will not be restricted to the school communities – they will be available to the wider community, making them a real local asset and resource.

 

To mark the opening of the new schools, the depute provost, local councillors, pupils, staff, parents and members of the schools' communities came together to cut ribbons to the entrances to the schools.

 

Depute Provost of North Lanarkshire, Councillor Jim Robertson, said: "These new schools are yet another terrific example of the very real difference that Education 2010 is making within our communities.  Not only do we have state-of-the-art and flexible facilities that deliver a modern and effective education curriculum, we also have enhanced facilities and resources that can be enjoyed by the wider community in Plains and the surrounding areas. I'm sure these schools will quickly become part of the local community and be enjoyed by everyone."

 

Councillor Jim Logue, Convener of North Lanarkshire Council's Learning & Leisure Services Committee, added: "With these new education and community facilities, we are genuinely creating a legacy for generations to come – a legacy that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. By establishing these new schools as a major community resource, they enjoy a prime position at the heart of community life, which is how it should be.

 

"This is a terrific boost for the village of Plains and I wish the two schools well as they move into their new homes."

 

Bob Anderson, General Manager of Balfour Beatty Construction in Scotland added: "We are delighted to see the handover of this latest stage of schools as part of the Education 2010 initiative.

 

"The success of all of the individual projects to date has centred around the true private/public sector partnership that has developed between North Lanarkshire Council, Transform Schools and ourselves."

 

And the schools also got the thumbs-up from those who know only to well the difference the schools will make in local communities.

 

Isabel Agnew, Head Teacher of St David's Primary, said: "This is a very exciting time for the school as we get to take advantage of these terrific new facilities that will help us provide the best teaching and learning environment possible. The children all seem very impressed and I look forward to helping them settle in to the new St David's Primary and getting to know our neighbours in Plains Primary."

 

Elaine Waugh, Acting Head Teacher at Plains Primary, said: "This new school is everything we wanted and gives pupils, staff and parents the type of facility they deserve. The facilities are a vast improvement on what we had before and we are all really excited about moving into our new school, which will make a real difference in helping us deliver for our pupils. We're looking forward to getting acquainted with our new home and with our new neighbours in St David's."   

 

Father Thomas Trench, parish priest at St David's Church in Plains, said: "The schools are modern, well-laid out and will be a great amenity for the village of Plains. It was great to see the children settling into their schools and I look forward to continuing to work closely with St David's pupils and staff and providing pastoral care and support."

 

Pastor Alan McKnight from Plains Evangelical Church added: "This is a fantastic resource for all the community and I am very pleased to see the school open. I'm sure the whole village will enjoy the new schools for many years to come."

 

Pupils also gave the schools the nod of approval – Plains Primary's Mark Kelly (9) described his new school as "cool", while St David's pupil, Rebekka Cairns (9), thought the new building was "great"!

 

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