Flying start for the launch of new university

A CIVIC reception and a fly-past by RAF jets will be held next month to celebrate the creation of the new University of the Highlands and Islands.

The event will include the robing of the university's first principal and vice-chancellor, James Fraser, and the presentation of the new mace, a gift from the universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde and Aberdeen. The ceremony will be followed by an academic procession, headed by the Royal British Legion Scotland Inverness Pipes and Drums, to the Town House. The festivities on 25 August, will also include traditional music especially composed for the occasion, and a welcome to guests in Gaelic, Orcadian, Scots, English and Shetlandic by school children representing the region.

Mr Fraser said: "After centuries of migration out to universities in Scotland and across the world, the Highlands and Islands now have their own university for the first time.

"We are laying the foundation of an institution which will last for many hundreds of years and will transform the economic, cultural and social prospects of the people who live in this part of Scotland."