Royal visitor

The Duke of York will tour the new Richard Lander School buildings at Gloweth before unveiling a plaque to officially declare the school open.

Prince Andrew is due to arrive at 11am, where he will meet a civic line up including head teacher Trevor Coldman and chairman of the governors Barry Tripp.

He will then be given a guided tour of the school, a technology college, to see the latest facilities and look at exhibitions.

Head teacher Trevor Coldman said: "We are extremely honoured to have HRH the Duke of York performing our official opening ceremony."

He added that staff and students at the school had been working on some special exhibitions and events to make the royal visit as interesting as possible. "We are very proud of our new building so it is good to mark its inaugural year in this way. I am sure the Duke of York will experience our school's distinct ethos and its sense of community pride. We very much hope that he will enjoy visiting the new Richard Lander School site," said Mr Coldman.

The prince's first port of call will be the school's sports hall, where he will see a badminton class in progress, before moving onto the specially-equipped fitness suite.

In a part of the school known as the "Ground Floor Street," he will then meet students and teachers with exhibits on the six themes relevant to Richard Lander School - Student Leadership, Young Enterprise, Curriculum Enrichment, International Dimension, Specialist School Provision and Learning Communities.

This will be followed by a display of surfboards produced by pupils - expected to be one of the highlights of the prince's tour.

Prince Andrew will be told that in 1998 Richard Lander School was awarded specialist technology college status and a popular design and technology project for year eight and nine students is to design and then construct surfboards. He will then meet deputy team leader Richard Scott, who will explain that during the one-week programme students work with a local company on computer-aided design, spray painted graphics, visit production companies and have the chance to see their own surfboard being manufactured in fibreglass. At the end of the week participating students each have their own individually designed custom surfboards, which are then submitted as GCSE coursework.

Another exhibit will illustrate Richard Lander's international connections, focussing on the school's American Exchange programme with the Mechanicsburg Area School District in Pennsylvania. Since 1999 the exchange programme has enabled 70 students and 20 teachers to experience culture and education USA-style. To celebrate the occasion, the superintendent of Mechanicsburg Area School District (equivalent to a director of education), Joseph Hood and Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School principal David Harris have flown over and will meet the Duke of York.

In the school hall the prince will hear the combined school choirs sing Purcell's Birthday Ode O Come Ye Sons of Art, conducted by the school's head of music and Cornish Bard Russell Pascoe. Other elements of the tour will include year eight students' creative work on mining landscapes, in preparation for the forthcoming Truro Schools Combined Arts Exhibition, and a display on the school's visit to the Busu community in Uganda.

Having spent around 75 minutes at the school, Prince Andrew will then receive a gift of local produce and unveil a plaque commemorating the royal opening, before heading off for two other appointments in Cornwall, at Crantock Bakery in Indian Queens and Brunel Business Part in St Austell.

Mr Trip said: "The governors of Richard Lander School are pleased that HRH The Duke of York has agreed to officially open our new building. I am sure he will be impressed with the excellent facilities our students now enjoy to give them the best education we can provide. Richard Lander is a unique school and I am certain he will have a pleasurable experience meeting our committed staff and students."

The new £24 million Richard Lander School is the first new secondary school in Cornwall for 28 years and is the largest ever built in the county, with the capacity for 1,350 pupils. Among its state-of-the-art facilities are a recording studio, fitness suite and an all-weather synthetic turf pitch.

The school, built close to the Truro College campus, opened its doors to pupils last September, after a 26-month building programme, but has yet to be officially opened.