Lornshill Academy will be officially opened on Wednesday 9 September by football pundit and former pupil Alan Hansen.

The former Scotland and Liverpool star, who was born in Sauchie, attended the original Lornshill Academy in the 1970s. He'll return to Clackmannanshire next week to formally open the new building.

The Academy's 1100 pupils and 120 staff are settling in well to their new building, having moved in last month, and are already reaping the benefits of their state of the art surroundings. Members of the community have also been taking advantage of the new facilities, booking meeting spaces and using the gym and other sports equipment during the summer holidays, after school hours and at weekends.

The new school is part of a £70 million plus PPP project delivered by Clackmannanshire Education Partnership with three new secondary schools opening in the county in 2009.

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Provost Stewart said: "The new Lornshill Academy boasts some exceptional new facilities and I am delighted that Alan Hansen accepted our invitation to perform the opening ceremony. The Council is committed to providing the best possible education for young people in Clackmannanshire and this new school will help us achieve that."

Head teacher Danny Murphy said the move has provided pupils and staff with amazing new facilities.

Tim Sharpe, Clackmannanshire Schools Education Partnership Director said:"CSEP, which comprises Bilfinger Berger Project Investments and Ogilvie, is extremely pleased with the outcome of this project. We believe that PPP is a system that delivers enhanced results for our clients and the community.

"It is the collaborative, partnership approach of the PPP process that has allowed us to deliver the full range of fantastic facilities at Lornshill Academy. We look forward to working with Lornshill Academy and Clackmannanshire Council for the next 25 years."

The new school boasts specialist science, art, music, ICT and drama classrooms. The indoor sports facilities include a games hall, gymnasium, dance studio, fitness suite and a state of the art PE classroom for high level coaching sessions.

As the former Lornshill Academy is demolished, phase 2 of the Lornshill development continues which will lead to the school being able to host county-wide sports events. Two grass pitches will be formed, one rugby pitch and a smaller pitch suitable for games such as tag rugby being created. A 400m, six lane synthetic track and other athletic facilities will also be built.

(GK/BMcC)