YOUNGSTERS at a popular York primary school have been getting their hands dirty helping build their new extension.

In a bid to help create new places due to increased demand, St Barnabas CE primary in Leeman Road is having a new two-classroom extension built.

The school is one of York’s PFI (Private Finance Initiative) primary schools and the build - which also involves expanding the school kitchen - is taking place with City of York Council’s PFI partner, Sewell.

Head teacher Karen Boardman said that with 145 currently on roll, there is a real demand for expansion and the extension will mean an increased intake of 200 will be possible.

Miss Boardman said: “We have been working closely with Sewell, who manage our facilities, to make the most of the building project to weave it in with our curriculum.

“We held a competition in school to design safety posters and the two winners, Isabella Watling and Elisha Lancaster, got to lay some of the bricks and now that the floor is down we should be able to have other opportunities to watch as the work progresses and extension is completed.”

In York the issue of increased demand for primary school places has been rumbling for some years and mirrors the national picture where a surging birth rate bringing an estimated 450,000 more primary pupils between 2012 and this year across England.

In the city, as previously reported by The Press, pressure on school places in South Bank in particular means plans are afoot to create a new multi-academy trust involving Scarcroft and Knavesmire primaries and Millthorpe secondary.

The popularity of South Bank means that both Knavesmire and Scarcroft are under increased demand for places and work was carried out last year at Knavesmire to build an extension to create provision, but more needs to be done.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, work on new primary schools for Carr Infants in Acomb and Lord Deramore’s in Heslington are both on-going.