PUPILS at Lochaline Primary School in the Highlands are well prepared should a fire break out.

The school on the remote Morvern Peninsula has a firefighter and his fire engine stationed in the building.

Overlooking the Sound of Mull, the school, which officially opened yesterday, incorporates a community fire station and its headmaster Keith Adams is a retained fireman.

The school has been operating for a year during which time he has been called out "eight or nine times".

He said the children find it exciting when he gets called out from class and he is able to talk about the fire when he comes back.

"It reinforces fire safety issues and is an ongoing resource to talk about such issues. It also makes the children aware that in small communities it is fairly common to have more than one role.

"The whole community has waited a long time for this and now we have this fantastic building."

Mr Adams added: "The school is of a high sustainability standard with two classrooms, a resources area, a community room and a new kitchen. The nursery unit has been upgraded and the old school hall converted into a dining/gym hall. Within the grounds there is a floodlit multi-use games area which is available for school and community use."

He said it provided space and resources to allow the staff, parents and outside agencies to support and challenge the children.

Mr Andrews said: "The building is also an important resource for the wider community and local groups are making good use of it.

"Having the fire station incorporated into the building makes us quite unique and gives certainly means I have no excuse for being late for a fire call out."

Former Highland Council leader Dr Michael Foxley, who was the local councillor, took part in the school's turf-cutting ceremony in 2011. He unveiled a commemorative plaque to open the 23-pupil school yesterday, when luckily neither the fire engine nor the headmaster was called out.

Now on the board of the new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Dr Foxley, a former GP in Lochaber, said: "I'm delighted to be here today to join the pupils and celebrate a full year of education in their new school.

"Over the past decade, their parents, the school staff, the community and the council have really worked hard and pulled together to ensure this splendid new community school was built.

"We are all proud the inclusion of the fire station is a first for mainland Scotland and I think demonstrates well the way forward for shared services in the Highlands."

The school was built on the site of the previous school building. During the works evidence of two protected species, slow-worms and bats, was found.

Pupils helped to capture the slow-worms which were relocated and a bat licence was obtained to relocate the nests.