LEW Trenchard Primary School has completed its major project to build a new classroom and extra facilities, and recently welcomed special guest Kay Roberts MBE to officially open the school’s brand new extension.

After years of fundraising, the new building finally opened its doors last week (September 5) to a host of local residents.

Over the past two years, the school, pre-school and local community have worked hard to raise money for the building project. The amount raised, combined with a £20,000 grant from Devon County Council, has enabled the school to reach its revised fundraising target of £120,000.

The new facilities also include toilets, offices, a staff kitchen area and a revamped, secure play area for the school’s Foundation Stage Unit.

Kay Roberts, from Okehampton, who was invited to open the new facilities, has been a school bus driver for many years and received an MBE for her services to education.

Kay, who was a pupil at Lew Trenchard Primary School, started driving a school bus to Lew Trenchard and Lifton schools in 1958. After 1968 she drove coaches to Lifton and Milton Abbot schools. Kay was also a dinner lady at Broadwoodwidger School for five years before returning to Lew Trenchard, at the age of 71, as a mealtime assistant in 2012.

Kay has been heavily involved in the school’s fundraising over the last four years and said that she still loves every moment she spends at the school.

In order to raise money the school hosted a series of events, including quiz nights, jumble sales, a summer fair, a big breakfast event at the Victory Hall, a ‘Pig, Wig, Swig and Jig’ night in the Blue Lion Inn, and an afternoon tea held at Lewtrenchard Manor.

The school’s project to build extra facilities also reached notable success early in the summer when it grabbed the attention of an overseas US sponsor who gave the school an additional £500.

Headteacher Tim Woodward said: ‘The school is absolutely delighted with the new building that has been finished on time and to a very high standard. We are indebted to so many people within our local community and beyond, for helping us to raise sufficient funds to make this dream come true.

‘Additional praise must go to AC Worth Builders and their staff who have worked very hard to complete this project on time and they have made many suggestions about how we can modify our ideas to make them work!

‘Our staff are very impressed with the new facilities. We now have the potential to create a sensory room and teaching area in the old offices and this will be done in the next month or so.’

The school currently caters for 87 children in the main school plus another 15 in the pre-school, compared to just 42 pupils in 2010. Up until now, the pre-school had been located in the school hall and was only open in the mornings. However, the new building will enable the pre-school to open for five full days a week and free up space in the main hall for other activities.

Mr Woodward added: ‘We are now able to provide first class teaching areas for ages 2-11 in our growing school and have the potential to expand further as demand increases.

‘This will be very important because there are a couple of housing developments planned in the near vicinity over the next couple of years.’