Nursery and pre-school classrooms at Hartlepool's Brougham Primary School reopen a year after devastating fire

The nursery and pre-school classrooms at Brougham Primary School suffered significant damage following an arson attack last August.

But following a 12-month refurbishment programme, classrooms have been modernised and an outdoor play area has been improved with new equipment.

The new-look nursery and preschool area was unveiled on Tuesday in front of staff, nursery children and parents.

Ann Cooper, the school’s Early Years Governor, who started at Brougham as a teaching assistant in 1972 and is also a volunteer at the school, performed the ribbon cutting.

Headteacher Sarah Greenan thanked the whole school community for pulling together.

She said: “The last 12 months has been one of the most challenging periods in the school’s history. The fire that swept through our nursery and pre-school was devastating and the rebuilding programme was not an easy task. It required immense dedication, hard work, and collaboration from everyone, especially our Early Years Team.

“It has, however, provided the opportunity to massively upgrade the learning environment for our youngest children. Previously, we had four outdated classrooms, but we now have a lovely, modern open plan area which has been built specifically to meet the needs of our children.

“We’ve also been able to improve the outdoor play area and now have artificial grass and new play equipment.”

Nursery and preschool children learned in temporary classrooms during the work.

Linda Armstrong, the school’s Early Years Lead, said: “The temporary classrooms have served the children well, but everyone is looking forward to returning to the main building and our new classrooms.

“The fire has given us the opportunity to completely restructure the nursery and preschool area, creating a much more usable and modern space with state-of-the-art décor, equipment and furniture.”

Andy Brown, the chief executive officer of Ad Astra Academy Trust, which Brougham Primary School is part of, said: “I would like to thank everyone for their support and hard work over the last 12 months.

“The project has ensured that we have a highly stimulating learning environment for the young children within the community.”