Aberdeen Grammar School's Rubislaw Sports Pavilion has been officially re-opened following the completion of a £3m refurbishment and redevelopment programme.

The work has created a fantastic new, extended environmentally-friendly facility which will provide its own heat and water.

The work, funded by the city council, involved the partial demolition of the existing Aberdeen Grammar School Memorial Pavilion and the construction of a new single-storey extension.

Incorporated into the new pavilion's design are renewable energy features which include: automatic sensors which automatically control the lights in all of the rooms to improve the efficiency and life expectancy of the luminaries. Changing room areas, which will be occupied intermittently, will be fitted with movement detectors, which will automatically switch off the lights when the rooms are unoccupied for a set period. Plus a ground source heat pump (GSHP) which harvests geothermal energy from the ground is connected to the under floor heating system.

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Solar panels are fitted onto the south-facing area of the roof. These are linked to a heat exchanger, which will transfer the collected heat to the domestic hot water system. This will also reduce the carbon emissions of the building.

The original pavilion was built in 1924 at a cost of approximately £5,000 and was funded by subscriptions from members of the Former Pupils Club. The pavilion was erected as a memorial to former pupils of the school who fell in the Great War.

The War Memorial Hall, the centre core of the existing pavilion, has been retained and refurbished as a key focus of the new development. The pavilion clock has been donated by the Aberdeen Grammar School Former Pupil Club Canadian Centre as its contribution to the Former Pupils Club's "1256 Appeal" which was launched in March 2006 to commemorate the school's 750th anniversary.

Aberdeen Grammar School head teacher Graham Legge said: "We are delighted to have such a spacious high quality facility. Our pupils and staff will benefit greatly from the pavilion including the indoor teaching space provided by the refurbished memorial hall."

The new pavilion will be used predominantly by Aberdeen Grammar School during term time and by the Grammar FP Club's rugby, cricket, football and hockey sections. The pavilion will also be available to be used by the wider community whenever they use either the grass pitches or the astro-turf facility at Rubislaw Field.

(GK/JM)