A SOUTH Cumbria school community is delighted to have won a grant for just under £350,000 to revamp its building.

Penny Bridge CE Academy, Greenodd, has received the windfall from the Department for Education through the Condition Improvement Fund for academies.

The funding will allow the school to build a new classroom, replace the roof, create a break out space and new toilets.

Penny Bridge has a Victorian school building. The school community is in need of more space as the school population has grown, but it still keeps class sizes to a maximum of 23 pupils.

The school will also use its own funds to complete work on the old school house where they will gain a music room, avoiding having musicians rehearsing in the corridors.

Headteacher Lynn Smolinski said: "We are thrilled. It will make a major difference.

We have been applying for this grant since we became an academy in 2013. We have applied every year and this year we were successful. This grant is only available to academies and it was one of the reasons we became an academy in the first place."

The school also won £10,000 through The Big Lottery rural funding which will be spent on fitness playground equipment.

Ms Smolinski said the school has been very fortunate. Work is taking place over the summer and into the start of the new term. The refurbishment should be complete by December.

Penny Bridge CE Academy has also recently been judged to outstanding in all areas in its Church of England schools inspection.

The inspectors said pupils "thrive and make excellent personal progress" and they "feel safe and nurtured with the result that they want to do well". Leadership was described as "inspirational" and the school was hailed as a "caring, happy place where everyone feels valued."

Ms Smolinski said: "We are delighted with the report. Penny Bridge is a happy place."