In a village on the outskirts of Harrogate, Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School has just completed another substantial refurbishment in order to further improve the environment for its school community.
Since the Headteacher took up appointment in September 2019 the school, which now has 142 pupils and its own Nursery, has spent £269,900 on an EYFS outdoor area, a new perimeter fence, a main school entrance and school office, a link lobby which prevents classrooms being a throughfare – thus disrupting the children’s learning – and a new staff room, which was long overdue.
All of these physical changes to the school demonstrate the Headteachers ambition to improve every aspect of school life, including the mental health and wellbeing for all.
Built by public subscription in 1861, Hampsthwaite Primary School is an elegant and substantial building of stone, in the Elizabethan style of architecture; it originally comprised a schoolroom, with classroom, and master’s house.
Today it is part of the multi-academy Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust which includes St Aidan’s Church of England High School and a number of other Church of England and community schools in the district.
Headteacher Mrs Amy Ross said:
We are delighted to have completed this next stage of our journey at Hampsthwaite which has further enhanced our facilities for the benefit of children, families and our passionate, dedicated and exceptionally talented staff team.
With fantastic support from Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust we have been able to achieve such a huge amount in a short space of time, and all of this despite COVID-19.”
Completing the build also highlighted what a wonderful school community we have. Parents donated furniture (including a sofa and coffee tables) for the staffroom and Graham Sanderson Interiors (Harrogate) made us some beautiful new blinds for the main office and for the staff room, which will be treasured for decades to come. I feel privileged and proud to be a part of this community.
Mrs Stott, the School Business Manager said:
Following the addition of a further classroom in recent years school had been lacking in facilities to support this extra provision, in particular to ensure a suitable entrance into school and also in providing staff room facilities.
In order to facilitate the works needed, funding was obtained through the development of local housing projects within the village, and this combined with other funding sources enabled us to achieve our ambitious goals.
The improvements made to school make a huge difference in the day to day operations and will without doubt help Hampsthwaite School continue to thrive.
