YOUNGSTERS are celebrating after a drab 1970s school was transformed into a “modern and fresh” building.

North Hinksey School in North Hinksey Lane has created a new classroom, new offices and reorganised the school to create a welcoming new entrance.

The work was completed during last year’s summer holidays but staff and students finally got to celebrate the achievement on Thursday.

Former headteachers dating back to the 1970s attended the celebration and were entertained by the school’s young musicians.

Headteacher Sally Wheatley said: “What we had was a building with three classrooms that were in fairly poor quality and officers that were at the back on the school.

“It was not an ideal situation and we wanted to change things so the offices were at front of the school.

“Eight years ago the governing body had feasibility studies carried out and developed a plan but it was very expensive.

“Last year we put forward new ideas of how to achieve what we wanted in a cheaper way, and that is what we have done.”

Three old offices, at the back of the school, were knocked through to create a new classroom and a classroom at the front of the school was converted into three offices. A mezzanine floor above the former classroom, previously used as storage space, was also converted into offices.

The work cost £85,000 and was funded from the school’s capitol works budget. School leaders had been saving for three years to complete the works.

Mrs Wheatley said: “It all looks very modern and fresh.

“We have got three classrooms as we did before but they are now much better and are much more pleasant to teach in, and because the offices are now at the front of the building it means we can monitor the security of the site in a much better way.

“It means there is now a much more natural entrance and it is more welcoming, modern and attractive.”

She added: “This work has reinvigorated everyone. The children are very proud of it and the teachers think it is great that they have all this office space.”

The school held an event on Thursday to celebrate the work’s completion and thank the architect, contractor and parents that helped out.

Mrs Wheatley said: “It has been a long time coming and it was very good to have all the people there that had been instrumental in getting there.

“In a way this project was testament to the community of the school.”

She said the school’s leaders were now planning their next project, the redevelopment of the school’s library to make it more “modern, spacious and bright”.