Around £785,000-worth of work has been carried out at a South Lakes school as pupil numbers increase.
Levens CE Primary School, near Kendal, has had a new classroom, entrances and corridor created, plus gender neutral toilets created and additional toilet facilities for youngsters in years one and two.
The previous staff room area has been extended to provide a designated library with new enhancements and resources supported by the community through Friends of Levens School fundraising activities. There are also new cloakrooms for the KS2 children and suitable storage for musical instruments.
The staff room is now located in the centre of the building with a new kitchen, storage areas and skylights to offer a comfortable recreational area for staff and an additional meeting room provides a quiet space for working and private meetings.
The cash came from Westmorland and Furness Council.
Jane Farraday, headteacher, said: “Due to a number of factors, including a new housing development on the outskirts of the village and our outstanding early years provision, the number of pupils has grown significantly in recent years.
“This led to reception places becoming oversubscribed year on year and the requirement to change from three to four mixed-age classes in September 2021.
“Our building was no longer fit for purpose; we were without adequate toilet facilities, classrooms and cloakrooms. We were using corridors for teaching small groups and the staffroom was doubling up as a meeting room.
“Before making our application to the county council, we commissioned a feasibility study by a local architect and were blown away by the potential for our building and the new enhancements that could be provided by creative use of our existing spaces, as well as the potential to extend outwards to create more space.
“It has been a long process, but we are so delighted with our environment. The children love their new school and the parents are equally overjoyed with the improvements; it’s already making such a difference here.”
A celebration event took place to mark the completion of the new facilities and the whole school took part in a Lego workshop to design ‘their school of the future’, co-ordinated by the National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education.
The ribbon cutting was carried out by Mrs Farraday and Councillor Sue Sanderson, Westmorland and Furness Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills.
