A £1.8 million extension at Elworth Church of England Primary School in Sandbach has been officially opened and blessed by the Bishop of Stockport, the Right Reverend Sam Corley.

A four-classroom extension has been built, together with a multi-use games area and additional toilet facilities so the school can now accommodate 420 pupils instead of 315.

The expansion project will help ensure the council meets its statutory obligations to provide sufficient school places and will help to accommodate children from new housing developments in Sandbach.

The project was funded through S106 developer contributions and the Department for Education basic need grant.

The project was meant to have started in early 2020 but the contractor went into administration and a new builder – Manchester and Cheshire Construction – was commissioned to take on the project.

The building work was completed in August 2021 in

readiness for the new academic year. Councillor Kathryn Flavell, chair of Cheshire East Council's children and families Committee a Sandbach town councillor and Cheshire East councillor for Elworth said: "We are pleased that this important project has finally been completed. "It is important that our schools have the right capacity and facilities to teach and care for children in a spacious and healthy environment. "We hope that Elworth C of E Primary School continues to flourish and succeed now that it has the space to take in more pupils. "It is important that families moving into Sandbach from outside the area know that there is sufficient school capacity to accommodate their

children."