Professor, TV presenter and all-round brainbox Lord Robert Winston was in Baldock on Friday to formally open a new £3 million school science centre.

The Comet: Lord Robert Winston with Knights Templar School headteacher Tim Litchfield and year 7 students Jessica Lucken and Shivansh Batra at the opening of the new science centre.Lord Robert Winston with Knights Templar School headteacher Tim Litchfield and year 7 students Jessica Lucken and Shivansh Batra at the opening of the new science centre. (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2016)

Professor Winston was among around 70 guests at Knights Templar School for the opening, with fundraisers, governors, past pupils and staff and others on hand for the historic day.

And the honour of cutting the ribbon fell to the two youngest students at the school, Jessica Lucken and Shivansh Batra.

Ben Chantrell, the school’s head of science, said afterwards: “All the science staff are really pleased. The students now have a science block that matches the quality of the learners.”

The new centre, funded by a government grant, replaces an old block which was in such a poor state that the sewers overflowed in heavy rain.

The Comet: Lord Robert Winston speaks to guests at the opening of the new science centre at the Knights Templar School.Lord Robert Winston speaks to guests at the opening of the new science centre at the Knights Templar School. (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2016)

Its design complements that of the neighbouring sixth-form centre, completed last year.

After the opening, Professor Winston gave a 40-minute presentation to the sixth-form and senior science students, speaking with passion about his work developing the IVF programme.

The topics of questions he answered ranged from the relationship between science and religion to the level of stress among young people today compared to past generations.

Head Tim Litchfield said: “I am immensely proud of our school and all it has achieved and will achieve.

The Comet: Knights Templar School headteacher Tim Litchfield receives a cheque for £10,000 at the opening of the new science centre.Knights Templar School headteacher Tim Litchfield receives a cheque for £10,000 at the opening of the new science centre. (Image: Danny Loo Photography 2016)

“The physicist Edward Teller said: ‘The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.’

“We have a living building which breathes opportunity and I am so excited for tomorrow.”