A SCHOOL that was labelled as the most run-down in the borough is celebrating the opening of its newly transformed facilities.

Conditions at Radcliffe Hall Primary School had been likened to something out of the Second World War, with pupils forced to walk through dilapidated hallways that had been installed as temporary measures decades ago.

But after a massive 18-month building project, staff and children are now delighted to be enjoying life in their extended and refurbished buildings.

The school’s headteacher, Denise Luke, said: “It has been a very big project that has been going on for the last 18 months or so.

“Bury Council have put a significant investment into it, more than £2 million, and we are very thankful for that. To see that kind of investment being put into Radcliffe is fantastic.

“It came about after Radcliffe Hall was identified as being the worst conditioned primary school in Bury.

“We had a prefab with a corrugated roof that was like something out of World War Two, and our two buildings were connected by a wooden corridor that was put in as a temporary measure in 1974.

“That gap where the corridor was now has a new dining hall, a kitchen, resource rooms, staff facilities, and three classrooms.

“We now feel like we can be really professional. The teaching facilities have improved tremendously.”

The school, where children have been taught for around 180 years, welcomed the Mayor of Bury, Cllr Mike Connolly, for a look around the new facilities on Tuesday, before pupils led parents on tours in the afternoon.

While the building work was carried out, the school moved some of its offices into the now-closed Close Methodist Church.

Mrs Luke added: “We now have things like a sensory room, a dedicated library space, and a teaching kitchen, which we could only dream of before.

“The whole place has been upgraded and even though we haven’t moved into an entirely new school, it feels as though we have.

“The impact for both staff and children is so far-reaching and that is why we have been celebrating this week. The last academic year was basically in a building site.

“I would also like to thank Close Methodist Church for allowing us to move our offices in there while the construction was going on.

“There is a pride in the school now and everybody is so pleased at how it looks .”