“EVERYTHING about it is amazing!” was the first comment made by one of the excited children who were waiting for the doors of their new school to open on Monday morning (June 4).

After many years of waiting, the children of Newton St Cyres have finally moved into their new building and they couldn’t be happier about their new learning environment.

During the last two weeks the staff have been working to move the children’s books and other resources from the old school on the busy A377 to the new site on Station Road, ready for the first children to arrive on Monday morning.

This has been quite a logistical challenge, rather like moving to a new house but on a massive scale, with pens and pencils, work books and library books all being carefully packed away and then placed in their new homes at the school.

Head of School, James Akhurst, masterminded the move and made sure that everything that was needed was safely taken to the new site. He said on Monday morning as the children arrived for the first time: “I am delighted with our new building and all the facilities that we can now use. We have been waiting for a long time for this day and everyone is very excited.”

The new building has been financed by the Education and Skills Funding Agency following an application by the school to replace the old school, which was built in 1877.

It had served the local community for many years but was no longer fit for purpose with crumbling walls and a variety of temporary classrooms that had long since deteriorated to an unfit condition.

Located on the busy A377, the school was noisy and difficult to access safely and parents could not park safely near the school without risking the lives of their children in crossing the main road between Exeter and Crediton. But, all that is now a distant memory, with the new building opening with a car park that is large enough to allow everyone to park safely.

The new building has four state-of-the-art classrooms, a large hall and studio, which the Newton Nippers Pre-school is using until its building comes down from the old site in the next few weeks.

There are also two library areas and a kitchen and offices inside and a large multi-use games area outside as well as a playground and field.

One of the biggest bonuses for staff has been having everyone under one roof, making it much easier to keep an eye on the children as they move around the school and much less chance of getting soaked coming to assembly in the mornings.

The new building has been constructed by Elliott’s, who started work on the site in August last year, on land given to Devon County Council by John Quicke.

Some of the building was constructed off-site and craned onto the site in late November which has meant that the construction process has been very quick indeed.

From the outside and inside though, no-one could tell that this is how the building started life. This could be a model for future school construction and Elliott’s, the ESFA and Mott MacDonald, who were responsible for the technical aspects of the building, are all delighted with the outcome.

There will be a ceremony on Friday, June 22 to mark the opening of the new building. Former headteachers have been invited to this event, including Mr Reg Mears, who was in charge at the school from 1957 to 1981.

He has shared his archive of photographs of the old building and some of these have been enlarged and are on display in the corridor of the new school.

The Executive Headteacher of the Exe Valley Federation, which includes Newton St Cyres, John Jolliffe, said on Monday: “We are truly delighted with the new building and the opportunities that this will bring to the children of Newton St Cyres and beyond.

“It has been a great team effort to complete the building by May 31 and I am looking forward to the building serving the children here for many years to come.”

Carol Furze