STAFF, pupils and supporters have celebrated the opening of the new Wool Primary School.

The newly renovated Church of England voluntary aided school marked the end of building work and the switch from first school to primary status with a special ceremony on Tuesday.

Building work started at the Wool school last summer as part of the wider £36.5m Purbeck Review education shake-up.

Under this Purbeck Review, the district moves from a three to a two-tier system in September. The change results in the closure of four district middle schools at Swanage, Wareham, Bovington and Sandford.

From September, Wool Primary CE VA School will hold onto pupils until Year 6 when they leave for secondary school.

Head teacher Lesley Paxton-Khanal said: “It was only a few years ago that our community fought alongside us to keep us open, because there was the threat of closure.

“So this was also a way of us saying thank you to them for supporting us, and here’s our lovely new school.

“We’d sent out invitations to parents, families and people in the community with strong links with the school. The children sang a number of songs and hymns, and each class created a prayer about the new build. The ceremony was a lovely occasion.”

The school’s main building remains, but the classrooms have been renovated and new facilities added.

Mrs Paxton-Khanal said: “We’ve been living in a shifting world where children have been moving from classroom to classroom for what seems like ages.

“There has been a lot of challenges facing the year but the children and staff have been brilliant.

“The front playground has basically been a building site, but we’ve incorporated as much as we could into the education of the children. We’ve had the builders come into classrooms and tell the children what they’re doing; we’ve very much used it as an educational tool. It is lovely to have it all finished now.”