A NEW chapter has officially opened in the history of a York primary school.

Lord Deramore’s School, in Heslington, now has a £2.56 million new building which was officially opened before the Easter break, even though pupils and staff have been using it since March 1.

The school, which was built in the grounds of the old school building, was designed to accommodate 210 pupils, aged 4-11 and was developed as part of the Government’s Priority School Building Programme (PSBP).

It features seven classrooms and a school hall and the single storey building has a pitched roof at one end to echo the roofline of the existing Victorian school.

This 1856 building will remain, but will no longer be part of the school and its later twentieth century extensions have been demolished.

The official opening of the building also marked another momentous occasion for the school as head, Sheena Powley, also retired after 21 years in charge, to spend more time with her family, and help her husband Mike run the family farm.

On the occasion she said that being a head teacher was a “fabulous job, but it’s not a job for the faint- hearted.”

The new head from the start of the summer term will be James Rourke, who is moving from Rufforth.

Lord Deramore’s is currently in talks to join the establishment of the South York Multi Academy Trust (MAT) along with Fulford secondary school and a number of city primary schools and a pupil referral unit.

The initial phase of development will see four schools applying to establish the Multi Academy Trust with two sets of three schools applying to join the trust at two further six-month intervals.

The initial schools seeking to convert in September this year will be Fulford, Dunnington, Wheldrake with Thorganby and Danesgate.

They will be followed by applications from Naburn, Archbishop of York Junior CE School and Elvington approximately six months later and by Lord Deramore’s, Escrick and St Oswald’s by September 2018.