Victorian primary school in Harrogate undergoes major revamp

St Peter’s Church of England Primary School in the centre of Harrogate has completed one of the most substantial refurbishments in its history.

The school, which has 267 pupils, has spent £280,000 removing external fire escapes, creating additional classrooms and a new outside play area which includes parkour equipment.

Built in 1883, St Peter’s was Harrogate’s first purpose-built hospital. The hospital was closed in 1932 and then bought a few years later and turned into a school.

Today 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.

The refurbishment work meant multiple projects at the same time — all crammed into the summer holidays to avoid disrupting the children’s education during term time.

Headteacher Mr Paul Griffiths said:

“We are delighted to have completed this ambitious schedule over the summer holiday to enhance our facilities for the benefit of children, families and our dedicated and talented staff team.

“With fantastic support from Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust we been able to achieve such a huge amount in a short space of time.

“We love the deep history and period features of our Victorian building with its lovely high ceilings and great picture windows and are delighted to be modernising this historic building for the benefit of children and families.”

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The school’s business manager Amanda Foster told the Stray Ferret that there was still more to be done at St Peter’s but for this round of work they’d thought hard about their priorities:

“We had to balance what needed to be done in terms of structural work versus what would directly benefit the children – such as the improved play area.

“With a building this old there are still major restoration needs so we are applying for more grants to get that work done.

“The work we’ve achieved this summer will make a massive difference to our pupils”

Part of the new playground area at St Peter’s