A SCHOOL that has served its community for over 170 years celebrated the milestone by opening a new building. 

Teachers and pupils from St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Broadway gathered to celebrate the "milestone moment" by unveiling a suite of new classrooms. 

Nearly £500,000 was spent on the new rooms that have replaced the three temporary classrooms in its playground used by the school for decades.

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The school on Leamington Road received funding from Worcestershire County Council, the Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi Academy, which paid for the project.

 Jackie Smith, the school's executive headteacher, said: "This project means a huge amount to a huge number of people. 

"The development of these new classrooms has been talked about for years.

"The old mobile classrooms were, at best, looking very tired and were in urgent need of attention.

"Thanks to the efforts of so many people, our children now have a learning environment that matches their talents and aspirations.

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"I can talk for ages about the impact that this new building will have.

"One of our children, however, put it best when they simply said, we are so lucky to have these new classrooms, it is like a fresh new start." 

Lessons have now begun to take place in the new building.

Father Christopher Draycott blessed the new building during the official opening, and Arthur Ewart and Maddie Emms, the oldest and youngest children at the school, were tasked with cutting the ribbon to declare their new classrooms open.

The school is part of the Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy.

Tom Leverage, who leads the Multi Academy, said: "This is a project where vision and passion have come together to create something special that will support the Catholic education of children for generations to come. 

"Pupils at the school are already feeling the benefits of learning in the impressive spaces that have been created. It is no exaggeration to say that this is truly a milestone moment for St Mary's and the school's community."

St Mary's Catholic Primary School is an outstanding rated Ofsted school.