A 'CENTRE of learning for the 21st century' opened its doors this week. After more than two and a half years of planning and community consultation, Dartmouth Academy has a £8.5m new home. Principal Nick Hindmarsh described the new build as 'a school for a new generation'. It has been under construction by Leadbitter for the past year and over the Easter holiday teams of workers have been putting the final touches to the state-of-the art facilities. The huge job of moving in began in the last days of the spring term, and many teachers and a gang of support staff have worked long hours to ensure the buildings were ready when students returned to school on Wednesday. The iconic new building includes a new purpose built library, a commercial restaurant overlooking the River Dart called The View, a brand new presentation theatre named The Cube and extensive computer facilities with the latest wi-fi and state of the art connectivity throughout. It is the first new school to be built in the town since 1978 and the most expensive public building in Dartmouth's recent history. The school laid on public tours last week to showcase the building to members of the community. Among the first of those to take a look was town mayor Cllr Paul Allen and other local dignitaries, alongside parents and children. Mr Hindmarsh said: 'This is a very exciting time for everyone at the academy and we were delighted to offer the community the chance to see why.'

More on this story, plus lots of pictures in this week's Chronicle