The main campus is made up of a number of informally grouped buildings of varying heights surrounding a central courtyard.

Each building is given individual surface treatment and a variety of contrasting materials have been used including Caithness stone, polished stone, timber boarding, and concrete slabs.

The building featured a carved granite abstract 'Education' by Ann Henderson RSA, who was born in Thurso and studied and taught at Edinburgh College of Art.

The reason for the extension to the school was the growth in Thurso and the surrounding area's population after the development of the Dounreay nuclear power station.

Although the school was built in anticipation of a population increase, the growth was greater and more rapid than expected, and at its peak Dounreay's staff of 2,400 people trebled the size of the town.