THE headteacher of Okehampton’s new St James Church of England Primary School says staff and pupils are ‘very excited’ that the school’s permanent home will be ready when the children come back after Easter.

The Reception class of 13, who have been taught in temporary accommodation at Okehampton Primary School since September, will move into their purpose-built new building off the Crediton Road on April 23.

They will be joined in September by a new intake of Reception children and a nursery for pre-schoolers.

Initially the school will have space for 210 children, with the potential for more classrooms to be added, as the communal facilities, including a hall and outside spaces have been built for 420 children.

The school has been taking shape on land off the Crediton Road over the past ten months. It has been built by school contractors Morgan Sindall. It is a Church of England school which is being sponsored by the Diocese of Exeter.

‘We have been at Okehampton Primary School since last September and they have been fantastic, we have been really, really lucky, but we are very excited to be moving into our own space and get going in our new school,’ said headteacher Suzie Stevens.

‘It is absolutely wonderful, very, very spacious. It is airy with really high ceilings and lots and lots of light, so it feels bigger because of the way they have designed it. It really feels like a beautiful space for the children to learn and grow in.

‘They have built it with an original capacity of 210 children, but the communal areas, including the hall and the library and a community room, have been designed for a 420-pupil school.

‘This means they can slot on an extra four classrooms upstairs and four classrooms downstairs when they are needed in the community.’

The town has had a long wait for the new school, which has been promised for more than ten years, to serve population growth caused by housing development which was granted permission on the eastern side of the town.

The school started out last September with its initial cohort of 13 Reception students in a classroom at Okehampton Primary School while the new school was being built. Those children will now move into the new school building for the summer term.

Recently, on pancake day, the children received a visit at their temporary premises from Mayor of West Devon Cllr Rev Mike Davies, who took part in a pancake race with them.

Mrs Stevens said they now hoped to invite the mayor back to their new school building on April 23 along with other special guests for a ceremony to mark the first day.

She added: ‘On our very very first day we have got a time capsule which we are going to bury and we are going to spend a day with the children thinking about what we want to put inside it.’

She said she would continue to lobby the county council Highways department for a pedestrian crossing for children over the busy Crediton Road from the Meldon Fields estate.

‘We are very keen to add that because we want the journey to school to be as safe as possible for the children and at the moment cars do go far too fast on that road,’ she said.

She asked parents to contact the school with concerns and said she would lobby the county council Highways department on their behalf.

Nigel Whelan, area director for Morgan Sindall, said: ‘Works at the new St James Church of England Primary School are progressing well to allow completion by Easter. The new school, which will help to alleviate the growing demand for primary school places in Okehampton, will be a fantastic addition to the town ensuring that every child is given the best possible education and learning experience.

‘We’re delighted to have been able to deliver this state of the art educational facility and look forward to seeing the local community benefiting from it in years to come.’