A NEW £44million campus has officially opened to pupils.

Three schools are settling into the new Port Glasgow Community Campus.

The £44m development is the new home of Port Glasgow High, St Stephen's High and the Craigmarloch Additional Support Needs (ASN) School.

It forms part of Inverclyde Council's £210m investment in schools.

Port Glasgow High head teacher Alan Dick said: "It is just amazing. It is the best place I have ever seen let alone taught in after 36 years in teaching.

"The pupils are loving it. Their immediate reaction was a lot of 'wows'. Not only is the new campus state-of-the-art, it is also bright and light and that really boosts everyone's mood."

The community campus is one of the biggest school-building projects in Scotland and the largest capital project ever undertaken by Inverclyde Council.

Port Glasgow High and St Stephen's have their own separate entrances at the new campus, with their own foyers and teaching areas.

The foyers connect via a shared 'agora' - Greek for 'gathering place'.

St Stephen's High head teacher Stephen Parsons added: "It is absolutely stunning and represents four years of planning and building coming to fruition."

The agora also connects with Craigmarloch School and provides access to all shared facilities, including art, science and technology, music, sports and drama departments.

The new single storey Craigmarloch building features both primary and secondary blocks.

The campus also boasts fitness suite and gymnasium, two all-weather pitches and a multi-use games area which will be available for community use outwith school hours.

Craigmarloch head teacher Eileen Stewart said: "The pupils have settled in well. They are loving their new school.

"Their reaction been incredibly positive."

cationa.stewart@ eveneningtimes.co.uk