THE second of York's new-build primary schools - the £4 million St Oswald's in Fulford - is opening on January 5.

At the start of the new term the 300 pupils at St Oswald's, in Heslington Lane, will be going back to a new building and a new public library on the site.

St. Oswald's is one of four new York schools being built as part of the PFI (Private Finance Initiative) scheme with East Riding-based firm Sewells. The total cost of the PFI projects is £17 million.

The completion of building follows the opening of St Barnabas' School, off Leeman Road, last month, while the Hob Moor Children's Centre is expected to be ready in time for Easter.

St Oswald's will have interactive whiteboards, specialist IT provision, a specialist dyslexia unit and will also house the local library.

In total, the PFI schools will cater for 1,100 youngsters.

The new flagship children's centre at Hob Moor in Acomb will be the first of its kind in the country to house a special school and mainstream primary school under one roof.

It will replace Hob Moor Primary School and Hob Moor Oaks special needs school. Each will have separate head teachers, staff and classes and is expected to be completed by April.

The new community library will be more spacious, providing space for more books, and will boast extended opening hours. It will be open on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings, although these sessions will replace the previous Friday evening hours of opening.

Maggie Tansley, City of York Council's head of planning and resources for learning, culture and children's services said: "It is great to see another PFI-funded scheme coming to fruition and bringing about benefits that can be enjoyed by the whole community.

"St Oswald's School will offer an excellent standard of accommodation for school age children, which will be complemented by the opening of the Early Years Unit for children of pre-school age.

"Meanwhile, the new library will be a facility for the rest of the local community to enjoy."

Head teacher Paul Marks said: "We have had to be patient during the construction of our new school, but now that we are moving in, it has clearly been worthwhile.

"The new school will allow us to strengthen our community links, through features such as the on-site community library, and operate from new, improved, fully-serviced facilities."

Paul Brooke, Sewell's education director, said: "We have worked closely with our in-house construction team and the school to ensure the build has caused as little disruption as possible over the past year.

"We are confident that together we have created a spectacular and functional school based on a strong creative partnership, understanding and consultation."

Updated: 10:22 Thursday, December 29, 2005