Historic Embleton Vincent Edwards Primary is extended and refurbished

The Bishop of Berwick with headteacher Nicola Threlfall and pupils outside the new entrance to the school.

In 2016, Embleton Vincent Edwards Primary taught just 17 youngsters and was going to be shut down by the county council.

But now the school has 70 children and has had to be extended to cope with the surge in pupil numbers.

In March the children relocated to the village hall so the new extension could be built, and now the brand new classroom has been officially opened by the Bishop of Berwick.

He also handed out bibles to children who have started at the school this year.

Headteacher Nicola Threlfall said: “We are absolutely delighted with the building work, and very grateful to Bishop Mark for blessing it for us.

"We are also incredibly grateful to the local community who supported us brilliantly while we were working out of the village hall. Children and staff are all really proud of our school and are already enjoying using the new spaces for learning.”

As the school building is more than a century old, it has also been rewired and aged pipes have been replaced. All its lights have also been changed to LED ones, a move funded by the Vincent Edwards Education Trust.

Following its latest Ofsted visit, in March 2020, the school received an overall rating of 'Good', and an 'Outstanding' rating for its Early Years. This was an improvement on an inspection carried out in 2017, when it was told it required improvement.