WHEN youngsters living on the Norfolk/Suffolk border went back to school after the summer holidays they returned to a new, state-of-the-art building. Some 75 pupils are benefiting from the first new school at Earsham, near Bungay, for 133 years, thanks to work between Norfolk County Council and the Diocese of Norwich.

WHEN youngsters living on the Norfolk/Suffolk border went back to school after the summer holidays they returned to a new, state-of-the-art building.

Some 75 pupils are benefiting from the first new school at Earsham, near Bungay, for 133 years, thanks to work between Norfolk County Council and the Diocese of Norwich.

The �1.7m new school campus replaces the old Victorian school, which was no longer fit for purpose, and includes classrooms, a multi-use main hall, as well as play areas and a sports field.

The new single-storey building, which is opposite the old one in School Road, has been designed by NPS Property Consultants Ltd and built by Norwich-based construction company Morgan Ashurst. The children got a first glimpse inside their new surroundings when they returned to school on Monday.

Headteacher of Earsham CE VA First School, Susan Weightman, said that everyone is delighted with the results.

“The old school was small and cramped but now we have a spacious and beautiful space to work in,” she said.

“The technology in the new school is really fantastic. Every room has a got sound field so that a teacher's voice can be amplified and we also have roof lights which open at the press of a button. We have much more space in the class rooms and double doors that lead outside to the playground so that children can work outside and inside, and a huge hall, which we have never had before.”

Mrs Weightman said that an extension is already planned for when the school becomes a primary in two years time.

“Everyone is delighted. The children are settling in well and are taking great pride in the school,” she added.

Mrs Weightman said the school is holding an open evening on Tuesday September 22 from 4pm-6pm to give past pupils and local residents a chance to look round the new facilities.