A PRIMARY school has officially opened its refurbished building almost two years after pupils first arrived.

Tynedale Primary School in William Morris Close, Temple Cowley, has been based in the former Lord Nuffield Club on the site since since September, 2013.

But since early this year, builders have been working to convert the building into a state-of-the-art free school.

Yesterday Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire Tim Stevenson attended a ceremony to mark the opening of the transformed £2m building.

Mr Stevenson was joined by parents of some of the children at the school, which follows a Christian ethos and is run by Chapel Street Community Schools Trust.

Chapel Street spokesman Graeme Hodge said: “There has been construction going on around the site, which is always a challenge for a school.

“It is a complete refurb of the existing building.

“They started before the school opened but it has been slower because they have worked around the kids.

“In the future there will be work on the surrounding environment of the site.”

The building cost £2m to refurbish and currently caters for children in Reception and Year 1 but this will increase with each school year.

It is hoped the school will have 400 pupils by 2019. Its plans to open in September 2013 were in doubt for some time after Oxford City Council rejected its application in March of that year to move into the Lord Nuffield Club.

But it was able to open after the Government relaxed rules to allow new free schools to open in almost any building for a year without permission.

Principal Liz Russo said: “We strive to give each of our students a lifelong love of learning.

“We see each child as a unique and valued individual and invest in giving them an excellent education to ensure that each of our pupils have the experience, support and tools they need.

“This will allow them to become aspirational, self-aware and hopeful young people who use their gifts and talents for the good of our community.”

A free school is a school which is set up by groups of parents, teachers, charities, businesses or similar groups and is funded by the Government but is not under the control of the local authority. Unlike state schools and academies, they do not have to follow the National Curriculum.