Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Lifelong Learning, officially opened Galston's new eco-friendly primary and nursery school on Monday 23 February 2009.

The new school opened to over 400 pupils in August last year. Designed and funded by East Ayrshire Council, this is one of the best-equipped and greenest school buildings anywhere in Scotland.

Built at a cost of almost £9m, the Galston Primary and Nursery School benefits from a range of green power generation and recycling features, including a wind turbine with a 6KW output, 55,000 litre capacity grey water tank, photo voltaic solar cells with a 4.16KW output and ground-source heat pumps, comprising 24, 100m-deep boreholes, with a 171KW output.

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There is also a first-class computer suite, school courtyards, vegetable garden, its own kitchen dining room and a well-equipped gymnasium. The playground even incorporates its own grassed 'mini amphitheatre' and a colourful range of games and activities.

Councillor Iain Linton, spokesperson on Lifelong Learning, said: "This is a fantastic new building offering many educational opportunities for pupils. Systems are in place to monitor energy generation and use which is great for helping the children understand about sustainability and environmental issues in a way that is practical and fun.

"As a Council, we want to do all we can to reduce our Carbon Footprint and this school demonstrates a marriage of technology and education that will have a far reaching effect."

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, said Galston Primary offers excellent new facilities which will benefit pupils and teachers, in addition to the wider local community.

"I am also pleased to see the leading approach taken to sustainability through a number of environmentally friendly features in the school design.

"Since May 2007 50,000 pupils in Scotland have moved into new, modern classrooms and the Scottish Government is determined to ensure that even more young people are given the opportunity to learn in the best school environments, just like the pupils at Galston Primary."

(GK/JM)