The Headmaster, Simon Davies, welcomed 230 benefactors who have contributed to the project before asking Mr Christie to open the building formally. Guests came from all over the country and some from as far afield as Hong Kong, Canada and the USA. After the formal proceedings guests were entertained in the Jennifer Winn Auditorium to a musical programme put on by 70 College pupils. Guests were then invited to a reception followed by tours of the new facility. The unanimous response from those who have seen the new facility  has been one of excitement: as intended, the Birley Centre really does complete the cultural quarter of Eastbourne, complementing the theatre and gallery facilities nearby.

On October 11 there was a second reception to celebrate the opening of the Birley Centre which was attended by over 150 people from the town of Eastbourne and further afield who have expressed interest in this new development. The evening featured a short performance from over 70 girls and boys and tours of the building.
Welcoming the guests, the Headmaster stressed that over the past 144 years, the College has grown with the town of Eastbourne and has never had a greater wish to be ‘embedded’ in the town or been keener to form productive partnerships with educational, cultural, sporting and charitable organisations in Eastbourne.The Birley Centre is a vibrant symbol of the College’s wish to be proudly at the centre of the town of Eastbourne. That its main entrance looks out onto Carlisle Road rather than into the school is deliberate.

Eastbourne College used both occasions as an opportunity to celebrate the partnership it has established with Glyndebourne. This partnership will enable Glyndebourne to run residential training courses for young singers and expand its impressive programme of using music to work with people who are suffering from dementia. It will also see the two organisations working together to ‘invest in musicians of the future’.