Around half the pupils in the Western Isles are being taught in the most modern schools in Scotland after a £70m investment by the island's council.

Hundreds of youngsters moved into new facilities in Stornoway, Harris and South Uist on Thursday.

The state-of-the-art facilities boast bright and airy rooms with chill-out spaces in one of the most hi-tech secondaries in the country, following a £35m revamp.

Frances Murray, rector of the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, said: “I think we can see that the pupils in the Nicolson have the best of all these facilities in any school in the country. It really is cutting edge, very up-to-date and we hope to make as much use of it as we can.”

With more than 1000 pupils, the Nicolson is the largest secondary in the Western Isles and brings together what was a sprawling campus under one roof.

Pupil Gordon MacLennan said: “It looks very well structured. It’s the size of it and it’s designed so differently with the canteen being in the middle and all the classrooms around it. It’s obviously very different and exciting to be part of the new school.”

Fellow pupil Annabel MacLennan said: “[I’m] just sort of in awe. I really didn’t know what to expect. We’d seen pictures but they didn’t really do it justice. It’s much, much nicer.”

The Nicolson's rebirth is part of a £70m initiative to redevelop six island schools funded by a hybrid private finance initiative.

Thursday marked the finishing line for the project, with all of the new buildings finished on time and on budget.