New extension declared open at Gaddesby School

Executive headteacher Gareth Nelmes (right), with staff and pupils, celebrate the opening of the new school extension PHOTO: Tim Williams

Staff, parents and pupils gathered on Friday at their summer fayre to officially open the £1.3 million state-of-the-art expansion.

“The new extension represents a new chapter for Gaddesby community’s families. It allows our school capacity to grow and gives the children the best facilities possible in which to learn in,” said executive headteacher Gareth Nelmes.

The extension has almost doubled the school’s original footprint size. It boasts four modern classrooms, a large hall space for PE lessons and club activities, and two new kitchen areas, one for staff to prepare the children’s school meals and the other for the children to use for curricular cooking.

The school has 135 pupils that will benefit from using the new facilities. They will be able to use the facilities for the first time after they return from their summer holidays at the end of August.

The building work was started in February 2015 and was completed in August 2015. Internal work was then carried out from August until October 2015. Funding was provided by the Department For Education’s Academies Capital Maintenance Fund (ACMF).

Mr Nelmes added: “The children are very pleased with all the new rooms and are looking forward to using them.”

The school’s summer fayre raised around £1,000. Attractions included several stalls, a bouncy castle, barbecue and the opportunity for pupils to throw sponges at the teachers.

Earlier this year, the school also benefited from having their pet corner revamped.

Over the winter the grass had turned into a muddy mess meaning that the children were unable to properly look after some of the school’s pets. Generous, local business man, Mr Brown of Brown’s Turf, Sileby, came to the aid of the children and donated and laid new turf.