His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex officially opens new school hall at Beaconhurst

On the 4th of March 2011, His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex, a Patron of the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, officially opened Cameron Hall at Beaconhurst School, in Bridge of Allan. The Cameron Hall bears the name of one of the Beacon School’s founding headmistresses, the redoubtable Miss Cameron, who was head from 1919 to 1968. The original structure was built in the early seventies and formed an assembly hall, dining hall and classroom block. In 2010, the present board of governors took the decision to breathe new life into the building and undertook a £1 million refurbishment and extension project. The new Cameron Hall is now a performing arts centre comprising of an auditorium with raked seating, studio theatre and classroom accommodation for Music and Drama. In addition, two further classrooms have been added and are used by the Modern Languages department. The Earl was greeted by Lord Lieutenant, Mrs Marjory McLachlan and presented to the Headmaster of Beaconhurst School, Mr Iain Kilpatrick. Mr Kilpatrick said “Beaconhurst is both delighted and honoured that the newly refurbished building has been officially opened by His Royal Highness, Earl of Wessex and I look forward to it playing a central role in the life of the school and it pupils for many years to come.” The Headmaster invited The Earl into the newly refurbished Cameron Hall where Head Boy, Mungo Dewar and Head Girl, Amy MacKenzie introduced pupils currently participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Beaconhurst. Currently Beaconhurst School have ten pupils that have achieved their Bronze Award in the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme and one pupil working towards their Gold Award. Amy MacKenzie from Culross, Fife said “The visit of The Earl of Wessex has inspired all of us taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. I am working towards my Gold Award and I am looking forward to completing it in the next year or so.” Mungo Dewar from Callander said “It was a pleasure welcoming The Earl to Beaconhurst. He was very interested in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and spent a lot of time speaking to those of us involved in the programme.” Beaconhurst is an independent school, located near Stirling in Central Scotland. In the past ten years it has grown significantly. Previously it was a small prep school of one hundred and twenty pupils; now it is a thriving all-through school with a roll of around four hundred and up to date facilities to cater for pupils aged from three to eighteen. Ends History There has been a school on the current site at Bridge of Allan since 1919, when the Beacon School for Girls was established. In the same year, Hurst Grange, a boys' school in Stirling, opened and the two schools merged to form Beaconhurst Grange in 1976. This ran as a boarding prep school until the decision was taken in the early 90s to develop an all-through day school providing high quality education to pupils from three to eighteen years of age. With this came the vision to redevelop the school site to accommodate Junior Start, Junior School and Senior School. Our compact campus now provides all the facilities expected in a modern, dynamic school community. Beaconhurst has forged an identity of delivering a personal, flexible educational experience by offering an integrated curriculum from three to eighteen, in which focus on the individual is paramount. This information and further details from Mia O’Neill T: 01786 435 183 E: mia@denvirmarketing.com