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It was a special day for Duns on Friday 19 June as The Berwickshire High School was officially opened by Major General Sir John Swinton, the former Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire.

The formal opening ceremony followed tours of the new school for special invited guests. The school's Senior String Quartet greeted special guests into the bright and spacious assembly hall where Executive Member for Education, Councillor Catriona Bhatia, welcomed everyone to the official opening ceremony: "Before coming here today I asked Mr Kelly whether the school had a motto, and he advised me that it was the words made famous by Scott of the Antarctic - To Strive, To Seek, To Find and not to Yield. That is a very fine basis for personal endeavour but it struck me that it also is very appropriate to describe the determination it takes to deliver a school building project.

"This was a huge investment by the Council, and I think we will all agree that is money well spent. The investment is not just in education - the teaching and learning of pupils, but also in the local community by providing first class facilities which can be used by all. It is also an investment in the local economy by ensuring that children and young people in Duns and Mid Berwickshire can gain the skills and knowledge they need to make their contribution. And although the building is occupied and fulfilling all of these remits, above all what we are celebrating today is an investment in the future.

"We want generations of children to benefit from these fantastic facilities and inspiring environment because they will face challenges locally, nationally and globally that will be more complex than we can fully comprehend. Scottish Borders Council wants the children and young people who attend The Berwickshire High to strive, to seek and to find their own potential and be confident individuals as they move out into an exciting and uncertain world."

Headteacher Rob Kelly expressed his delight at the new building and the affect it has had on pupils, staff and the local community: "The building is an absolute joy to work in - bright, airy, spacious, and thoroughly modern. The facilities are quite simply superb, wherever you look, wherever you go. This is exactly the kind of iconic building we wanted and the people of Berwickshire can be justifiably proud of it. Future generations of Berwickshire's young people will continue to benefit from this marvellous facility, such is its quality, and I was reminded of this longer term perspective during the recent visit of our Primary seven pupils who will be joining us in August.

"Well done to the architects, engineers and builders and to all those who put together this superb school. Also, well done to SBC for the vision and determination to embrace the PPP principle to ensure the creation of not just one but three state-of-the-art secondary schools."

All the new schools in the Scottish Borders are the most environmentally advanced in the UK.

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