DASHES across the playground to reach classrooms on cold, wet and snowy days have been banished at a Felixstowe school.The project has provided the school, in High Road West, with a new spacious and light modern hall and new offices.

DASHES across the playground to reach classrooms on cold, wet and snowy days have been banished at a Felixstowe school.

Fairfield Infants is today celebrating after officially opening its £500,000 extension following an eight-month building scheme

The project has provided the school, in High Road West, with a new spacious and light modern hall and new offices. It has also linked up all the school buildings so pupils no longer have to brave bad weather between classes.

The new extension has bridged the gap so all areas of the school can now be reached under the safety of a roof.

It has also improved safety at the school - which opened in the late 1800s - by creating an enclosed playground for the children.

Former headteacher Doreen Bartlett, who started pressing for the project during her 18 years at the school and moved on shortly before it began, was given the honour of opening the extension.

She said: “I remember when I first came to Fairfield and taking assembly in the old hall, I would have to look around two pillars in order to see all the whole school. This is a vast improvement.”

Current headteacher Jane Reed thanked everyone who had helped with the project.

She said: “At times I wondered whether it was all worth it, but the day we took the children in for assembly for the first time I knew it was.

“When I think back to the old hall with all the PE equipment everywhere, all the clutter, and sometimes having to use it as extra classroom space, and then looked at this new hall and the feel of peace and tranquillity, space and visibility, there was no comparison.

“There was an audible intake of breath from the children as they walked in and in that moment I just knew it was worth it.”

The new hall, built by Barnes Construction, provides a place for assemblies, larger activities, and eating lunch, while the old hall is to be used as extra activity space for the three reception classes alongside.

New offices have also freed space for speech therapists, meetings, and staff to use for groups of children with special needs.

Are you a child or parent of Fairfield Infants - what do you think of the new hall? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail EveningStarLetters@eveningstar.co.uk