The prizegiving was being held in the wake of the recent publication of the Aberdeenshire Council capital plan, which includes a new-build Mearns Academy.

The authority do however need government money to bring their plans to fruition.

The council has allocated £300,000 to Mearns Academy in 09/10 for the purchase of additional ground, with a further £700,000 earmarked for 10/11 for the preparation of architectural drawings and associated matters.

The council would like to build the new school during the years 11/12 and 12/13 with a proposed expenditure of £18,835,000 in each of these years.

Mr Parkin said the prizegiving was a very special occasion in the school calendar, as they recognised highly-motivated and successful young people achieving excellence.

"One of the most pleasing aspects of my job is showing around parents and a wide range of other visitors. Almost always they comment on the positive working atmosphere in the school. To me that means a lot.

"Maintaining this is one of the challenges we face - especially in the continuing context of the school buildings being unfit for purpose.

"This year has seen a feasibility group established by Aberdeenshire Council confirm unequivocally that the only option in terms of addressing this school's accommodation issues is to build a replacement facility.

"Furthermore, the council confirmed that a significant sum of money has been earmarked towards purchasing the extra land that would be required for a new build. In the meantime, until central government funding is forthcoming, we will continue in the existing building.

"When any new build does accur, not only will a replacement academy emerge, but also a much-needed community facility for the wider Mearns population. Indeed, it is increasingly accepted that pressure to see such an eventuality may be best applied by co-ordination between the range of existing local bodies and councils.

"Mention of community introduces a key facet of this school's role - linking with the range of partners in the Mearns area."

Mr Parkin referred to the school's good performance in the SQA exams, but took a swipe at the government's exam league tables for schools, which he described as a "crude benchmark."

"You may have seen in the national press, that schools in Scotland are on occasion listed into league tables.

"Academic excellence is a key target for this school - we must encourage all our pupils to attain all they can. It may surprise you, however, to know that I could not say where we are in any such league tables.

"Firstly, this is because wherever we are - I would like us to be higher. But secondly, I and others in the profession do not feel that such crude benchmarking of schools is expecially accurate or helpful in giving a true picture of particular schools."