New £22m Sighthill Community Campus officially open

The Sighthill Community Campus has been housing pupils from Sighthill Nursery and St Martin’s Primary School for three years but due to the pandemic, the opening ceremony was held today.

Hundreds, including pupils, teachers, staff and council officials gathered at the facility to mark the occasion, in a festive manner.

With student performances, heartfelt speeches and a special plaque being unveiled, the afternoon focused on diversity and equality, two of the institutions' priorities.

The Sighthill Community Campus exterior (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

The student choir (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Students performing at the event (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Councillor Christina Cannon unveiling the plaque (Image: newsquest)

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St Martin's headteacher Donna McKay said: “I am delighter that we have finally managed to open the campus after a three-year delay but I think that the timing is right.

“Moving into a new school, the focus is all about the school, whereas three years down the line, it’s rightly about the community that we aspire to be. I am happy with how this afternoon’s proceedings went and I am incredibly  proud of my staff, team, children and families who ensured that today went without a hitch.”

Treasure Obeahon, 10, a P7 student at the school, praised the community and emphasised the importance of being together at assemblies.

She added: "It is a very nice place and it's better than our old school. It has a bigger playground and a beautiful wall when you enter."

The institution was created by combining the local St Stephen's and St Kevin's schools and was named after St Martin de Porres, the Patron Saint of racial harmony.

Christina Cannon, city convener for Education, Communities and Equalities unveiled the commemorative plaque as part of the event.

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Headteacher Donna McKay, depute HT Emma Gardner and depute HT Laura McEachran with pupils Carmedie, Michael, Ivory and Treasure. (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Pupils (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Fiona Crawley, head of centre at Sighthill Nursery and Donna McKay, headteacher at St Martin's primary school (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Performances (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

She said: “I think the opening is really important, even though the staff and pupils have been in the school for the past three years.

“It’s a chance for an official ceremony and celebrate what they have already meaning and what merging the two schools together means.

“We have heard from the staff, the headteacher, and also the students themselves, about the values of the school and I think that was a real highlight for me today.

“Inclusion, diversity and equity are everything that we need in the future generations and these students embody it so very well. I am so proud of them and it was a privilege to be there."

The new building, located on Sighthill Avenue, contains 19 full-time teaching classrooms, three general-purpose rooms, five nursery playrooms, specialist rooms, sensory room, nurture room, multi-purpose gym, amphitheatre and more.

Outside, students can utilise a seven-a-side pitch, planters, mini-basketball court, covered bike storage, raised seating and external storage.