More than £100,000 has been spent on a new learning block at a village school near Colchester.

An extra teacher will be appointed next year when the new £105,000 wing at St Lawrence Primary, Rowhedge, opens.

The new block includes a giant classroom, which has been specifically designed for reception year pupils. All the walls are covered in pin-board material for display, one of the sides is almost fully glazed and will lead into a patio-area with palm trees.

There is also a store room, toilets and a lobby-style area outside the new classroom.

Deputy headteacher Carl Messer, who will be headteacher next term, said the school's aims, wishes and needs had formed an important part of the design.

The new block also helps the school meet new targets to keep reception year classes down to 30 pupils, said Mr Messer.

He added: "In a lot of schools, they would probably have had a demountable classroom put in. For us, this is the culmination of a lot of things we have been doing in recent years, and when it is complete we will be able to get on fully with teaching and learning."

There are also plans to create a wildlife area at the front of the new classroom as well as developing an unused patch of land at the rear.

Money for the project has come from Essex County Council, Redrow Homes and the school itself.

By Laurence Cawley

Reporter's e-mail: laurence_cawley@thisisessex.co.uk

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