A Trowbridge primary school has become one of the first in Wiltshire to open a new £1 million extension meeting net zero in operation carbon emission targets.
The Roost a Net Zero building at Castle Mead Primary School uses an air source heat pump for heating, and has underfloor heating and solar panels to ensure the minimum impact on the environment.
Trowbridge mayor, Cllr Stephen Cooper, officially opened the new extension on Wednesday, February 28 by cutting a ribbon.
He also helped Year 6 pupils and representatives of the school parliament to bury a new time capsule commemorating the opening.
Wiltshire Council has invested more than £1 million in the new extension to enable the school to accommodate the expansion of its complex needs resource base by providing a further 35 places.
The school currently has 389 pupils, including the nursery and the resource base. The new resource base pupils will be educated in the main heart of the school.
Cllr Laura Mayes, Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for education and skills, said: “In Wiltshire, we have a growing need for special school and resource base places.
"The new building at Castle Mead School is part of a wider programme of development, working together with schools across the county, to ensure all pupils can access an education that best meets their needs.
“We have invested in this new building to provide additional classroom space for pupils but also to create a new resource base right in the centre of the school as well.
"The resource base provides pupils with Special Educational Needs and or Disabilities with enhanced support, spending time in the base for specialist provision while also joining mainstream classes. This means all pupils can enjoy a bright, inspiring environment alongside their peers.”
The first children to use the extension are the school’s two Year 6 classes who were very excited to be in the new building in Mascroft Road, Trowbridge.
Wiltshire and Trowbridge councillor Mel Jacob, whose Paxcroft ward includes school, said: “It is a really lovely building and it is great to have such an environmentally-friendly building.
“The Year 6 children were really pleased it was finished in time for them to be able to use it before they leave the school.”
Castle Mead Primary School headteacher Emma Larkham said: “'We are really excited to have this fantastic new building for our children to use. It has been a long time but definitely worth waiting for.”
The time capsule includes letters from all of the school’s classes with messages to those pupils who go there in the future.
These include: "We hope you love school as much as we do", “Our favourite movie of the moment is Wonka”, and “Our favourite author is Julia Donaldson”.
They added: “We are focusing on learning our times tables and in science we are learning about the digestive system. I wonder if you will learn the same as us?”
As part of the building works, Castle Mead Primary School has installed a community defibrillator accessible to anyone who needs to use it.
Mrs Larkham added: “We wanted to ensure that all members of the community are able to access this vital piece of equipment in emergencies, so we have made sure our defibrillator is accessible by everyone, not only when the school is open.”
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