THE MAYOR of Poole cut the ribbon to officially open the new Heatherlands Primary School at a celebratory ceremony yesterday.

Building work has taken place over the last year to enable Heatherlands First School to extend its age range from children aged four to eight to those up to 11 from September 2013.

The ceremony was kicked-off by David Squire, the world’s longest serving town crier and the school choir.

The Mayor Councillor Philip Eades cut the ribbon alongside top pupils, Lexie Martin, six and James Harfield, eight.

Mayor Councillor Philip Eades said: “The new building is absolutely fantastic and it will be a huge benefit for the community. There will be 90 new students each year for the next three years, allowing it to grow organically.

“Hopefully this will make it much easier for parents in the area as those with children of different ages will not have to ferry them around to different schools.”

The additional £5million building will allow the school to increase the number of school places from 360 to 630. Head teacher Sally Burns welcomed the new principal of the Primary School, Chris Malone and said: “We hope this will enable the school to become the centre of the community.”

The opening ceremony was followed by a fun day which included a bouncy castle, raffle, tombola and plenty of stalls.

Current pupil seven-year-old Eleanor Tyrrel said: “I’ve eaten so much ice-cream. Today has been amazing.”

Eleanor’s dad Noel, 54, said: “The whole ethos of the school is kind. They produce well-educated and well-behaved children.”