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Dec 2022

Last Updated: 05/12/2022

Education

Hampsthwaite school completes £270,000 upgrade

by John Plummer

| 05 Dec, 2022

Hampsthwaite EYFS outdoor provision

A village school near Harrogate has completed a £270,000 upgrade.

Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School was built by public subscription in 1861 and now has 142 pupils and a nursery. It is part of the multi-academy Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, which includes St Aidan’s Church of England High School and a number of other Church of England and community schools in the district.

Since Amy Ross became headteacher in September 2019 the elegant stone building, which originally comprised a schoolroom with classroom, and master's house, has been further extended and modernised.

It now has an early years foundation stage outdoor area, a perimeter fence, a main school entrance and school office, a link lobby which prevents classrooms being a thoroughfare that disrupted learning and a staff room.

The £270,000 refurbishment was paid for by a combination of section 106 infrastructure funding from housing developers along with school and trust funds

Ms Ross said:

“We are delighted to have completed this next stage of our journey at Hampsthwaite which has further enhanced our facilities for the benefit of children, families and our passionate, dedicated and exceptionally talented staff team.”

“With fantastic support from Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust we have been able to achieve such a huge amount in a short space of time, and all of this despite covid.

“Completing the build also highlighted what a wonderful school community we have. Parents donated furniture, including a sofa and coffee tables for the staffroom and Graham Sanderson Interiors (Harrogate) made us some beautiful new blinds for the main office and for the staff room, which will be treasured for decades to come. I feel privileged and proud to be a part of this community.”

Jo Stott, the school business manager, said:

“Following the addition of a further classroom in recent years, the school had been lacking in facilities to support this extra provision, in particular to ensure a suitable entrance into school and also in providing staff room facilities.

"The improvements made to school make a huge difference in the day-to-day operations and will without doubt help Hampsthwaite School continue to thrive.”