PUPILS at a rural primary school are celebrating the opening of a new wooden outdoor classroom after the school raised £20,000 to fund it.

The construction at Middleton Tyas CE Primary School, near Richmond, North Yorkshire, will provide a classroom space and a performance area for children and teachers to use in a variety of lessons and projects.

It was officially launched last week when the school took part in a special “golden assembly” where everyone involved in the project was thanked.

The school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) managed to raise the cash needed to fund the project in two years, between 2011 and 2013, through a range of fundraising events.

They included two charity balls at Middleton Lodge, Christmas shopping events and other activities enjoyed by children at the school.

The PTA also received a Community Trust grant from the motorway service giant Moto, as its Scotch Corner station is one of its adopted schools.

The grant was used to buy equipment for the classroom which would help turn it into an imaginative space for children to enjoy.

The equipment included a story chair, wooden carved mushrooms and wooden benches for the children.

Six educational panels were also purchased for the classroom, which were bought with donations from fortnightly quiz nights at the Black Bull Inn at Moulton.

A large amount of research has been conducted in recent years into the benefits of outdoor learning to children. It has been proven to improve children’s physical, emotional and social development and counterbalance children’s increasingly indoor, sedentary lifestyles.

Time spent learning outside is also proven to help children perform better when they return to indoor classrooms.

Executive headteacher Maxine Price said the children were very excited about prospect of using the outdoor classroom.

“We are very grateful for all the hard work that has gone on to make this project possible and would especially like to thank all our the PTA members involved, Moto in the Community Trust and the Black Bull Inn in Moulton for their generous donations,” she said.

“We are always looking at innovative ways to use our great outdoor space and the children are very excited about using this classroom and performance area as much as possible.”