Extension works at Levens CE School were completed in time for the new school term, following a £785,000 investment from Westmorland and Furness Council.
The extra spaces have been positively welcomed by students, staff and parents alike and will help to ensure there is sufficient capacity at the school to accommodate the growing intake of children which continues to rise each year.
The school now boasts a new light and airy classroom for year 5 and 6 pupils, new entrances and a corridor to link both sections of the school, where a new set of gender-neutral toilets is now located; as well as additional toilet facilities within the existing building for children in years 1 and 2.
The previous staff room area was 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 now 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.
Jane Farraday, Head Teacher at Levens CE Primary School 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 previous 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.’
Cllr Sue Sanderson, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, said:
“There is a long-term need for additional space at Levens village school and this new extension will ensure the primary school is able to thrive. We have a statutory obligation to ensure sufficient school places are available to meet local demand and aim to provide this in the catchment area school where possible. To see what has been achieved at Levens by redeveloping existing spaces and adding new areas is testament to our commitment to working with schools and partners to get the best possible outcome for pupils.”
Cllr Peter Thornton, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Assets, said:
"Providing additional school places within the village will prevent children having to travel further afield to attend school. This is not a good use of taxpayers money, increases our carbon footprint and does not help our local, rural community.
The new spaces are great and I look forward to seeing the future intake of children taking the first steps in their education in such a welcoming setting.”
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’, coordinated by NCEE (National Centre for Entrepreneurship in Education). The school extension works inspired some creative ideas from some potential budding architects of the future, with the session lead by Fran Ward, Head of Computing Cumbria, from The Institution of Engineering and Technology (ITE).