The large marquee which had been erected in the front playground barely accommodated all the guests and the 320 pupils. The guest of honour was Mrs Trudy Pollock MBE who performed the official ceremony and the Rev Albin Rankin former minister of 1st Ballymoney Presbyterian Church conducted the programme.
As the guests and parents arrived Mrs Hargie music teacher and members of the school orchestra provided background music.
The Rev Albin Rankin welcomed everyone and in his introductory remarks expressed how pleased he was to back in Ballymoney in particular Leaney School and introduced the first speaker the Principal Mr J McConaghie.
During his address the Principal in giving a very special welcome to Mrs Trudy Pollock stated that no one was more worthy of the honour of performing the official ceremony as Mrs Pollocks contribution to the life and work of Leaney School was exemplary and spoke in glowing terms of the contribution she had made during the new build and the preparation for the occupancy of the new building.
The Principal also gave special thanks to the Chief Executive of the NEELB Mr Gordon Topping, Mr George Wylie Head of Property Services NEELB, McCloskey and O'Kane building contractors, Harbour Studios architects and School and Office Supplies who provided the furniture and equipment for the new school.
In addressing the pupils Mr McConaghie explained that each of the pupils would receive a commemorative medal which had been specially minted for the occasion and this would be presented to the boys and girls by members of the Board of Governors as they left after the ceremony.
Following the Principals address Abi Miller Chairperson of the Schools Council read the schools mission statement.
The school choir led by Mrs A Hargie gave a delightful rendition of 'Thank you Lord for Everything' and 'Let us work today'. The foundation stage choir under the leadership of Miss L Campbell amused the audience with a captivating bilingual performance of 'Our School is a Nice Place to be'.
The Rev Rankin to the delight of the pupils and the audience then involved everyone in an interactive story on the theme 'God loves Everyone'. This was followed by everyone singing the hymn 'Thank you Lord for this Fine Day' and a prayer by Rev Rankin.
The Rev Albin Rankin then invited Mrs Trudy Pollock the guest of honour to address the guests, parents and pupils.
Mrs Pollock addressed the audience as follows: "Mr McConaghie, boys and girls, governors, parents, guests. First of all I want to say a big thank you to the Board of Governors for inviting me to officially open the new Leaney Primary School. I cannot possibly describe to you all how delighted and honoured I am to do so and I am truly thankful for the privilege.
"I first entered the gates of Leaney Primary School a very long time ago. It was in fact in 1969 when my younger brother commenced his schooling and my mother charged me with the task of delivering a somewhat timid and on occasion reluctant scholar to class each morning
"Later Leaney Primary was to become the school that my own three children would attend and indeed it has now become the school that my grandson attends.
"Today we celebrate this wonderful new building – the new Leaney School - with bright and stimulating classrooms, colourful and comfortable furniture, state of the art technology and outstanding and innovative resources.
"However I believe we have much more to celebrate. Yes we have this wonderful new building with its many attributes but I believe a school is not just a building - it is much much more. A school is in fact a community within a community and the Leaney School community is made up of exceptional people doing exceptional work every day.
"Firstly in Leaney we have a committed and dedicated Principal and staff whose inspirational work is enhanced and extended by a team of enthusiastic and caring support staff. It is their quest to develop each child to his or her full potential and to create a learning environment of light and laughter where challenge is embraced and success is celebrated at all levels.
"Next we have a uniquely pro-active Board of Governors who share a genuine compassion and empathy for the life and work of the school and a deep commitment to its vision
"We have an extraordinary parent body who contribute faithfully to every aspect of school life. They are actively involved in the childrens learning experiences and achievements and on a daily basis it is volunteer parents who take responsibility for preparing and serving the childrens healthy breaks. Parental support is ever present and highly valued.
"We have further support from the local community through the invaluable work of the Association of Teachers and Friends of the school under the Chairmanship of Mr Nigel Burns and through the NEELB's Extended Schools Programme. And then on top of all this we have the most important people of all – the pupils.
The school aims to ensure that all of its pupils feel valued and respected and that they in turn value and respect others. The chidren are responsible citizens of their school community. They take responsibility for their environment through the schools energy team and litter wombles. They take responsibility for each other with peer mediators, playground buddies and corridor speed cops and they give a voice to the pupils through their class and schools councils. The boys and girls of Leaney are ambassadors of good citizenship promoting the school motto "letting pupils serve". The school takes pride in the pupils. The pupils take pride in their school. They are blessed and privileged to be part of it. Leaney School belongs to them - it belongs to you - it is part of your community. So I say to you today - embrace it - enjoy it – celebrate it."
The Rev Rankin then invited the Mr Peter Pollock, Mr J McConaghie Principal, Mr Roy Beggs Chair of NEELB and Mr Gordon Topping Chief Executive to join Mrs Pollock on the platform for the official ceremony. Mrs Pollock then declared the school officially open by unveiling a commemorative brass plaque. This was loudly applauded by the audience.
Following this the Rev Rankin invited the Chairperson of the NEELB Mr Roy Beggs to address the audience. Mr Beggs thanked Mr McConaghie and the Board of Governors for inviting him along to what he described as a most significant occasion in the life of Leaney Primary School.
He said this was an exciting day for everyone but reaching this stage had taken a lot of hard work, patience and perhaps even a little tenacity. Mr Beggs acknowledged the commitment and dedication of the governors and said it was particularly fitting that Mrs Pollock should officially open the new school as she had strived so hard for so many years.
The new school Mr Beggs said incorporated a number of new and novel elements such as green energy and was at the leading edge of building today. Everyone he said should be immensely proud and he wished them many happy years in this new building.
Rev Albin Rankin then invited Mr Nigel Burns Vice-chairperson of the Board of Governors to speak.
Mr Burns congratulated the children on their most enjoyable and memorable performances.
He thanked Mrs Pollock for her unwavering commitment to the life of Leaney School.
Mr Burns also thanked the Rev Albin Rankin for coming along today and for the significant role he had played in the days proceedings.
He paid special tribute to the Principal Mr McConaghie for all he had done throughout the building process and in the transition from the old to the new school.
Finally Mr Burns wished everyone well in the new school.
The Rev Rankin thanked everyone for making the day so special – the guest of honour Mrs Pollock, the pupils who had entertained, the music teacher Mrs Hargie, the principal guests from the NEELB, the guests, parents and pupils of the school and then closed the programme with the benediction.
The guests were then invited to the school assembly hall where everyone enjoyed an exquisite meal provided by the staff of Drumadoon Hall.