Pupils, teachers, councillors and partners gathered to celebrate the official opening of the new learning village at St Peter’s CofE Junior School in Ruddington.
Work on the new £6.5 million purpose-built temporary learning village, which includes four new buildings, started in the new year and was completed by early April, ready for the new summer term.
This makes it the fastest-ever turnaround for a project of this type in the country. It has been built next to the current building, accommodating all 350 pupils.
The project was managed and delivered on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council by Arc Partnership, a joint venture between the council and SCAPE.
Nottinghamshire County Council Leader Mick Barton was joined by cabinet member for Economic Development and Assets, Councillor James Walker-Gurley and cabinet member for Children and Families, Councillor Rory Green, to officially open the learning village. The councillors praised the school for its resilience over the last few months and expressed how fantastic it was to see teachers, pupils and staff all back together on the school site. Councillor Barton added: “We are really proud of how quickly this project has been turned around as we know how important it was to get the school site back up and running.
“It was a real team effort with contractors and council colleagues working around the clock to get this ready in record-breaking time.
“We hope this temporary home will provide a great environment to learn, with catering on site, a school hall and SEN provision.’’
The four buildings within the learning village have been named after inspirational local people. These are Vicky McClure, Viv Anderson, Mary Earps and Ada Lovelace.
Headteacher Michael Bradley said in a short time the construction of the learning village has been nothing short of remarkable. He said: “Just a few months ago, life and learning changed overnight. However, out of uncertainty, we have, together, turned a difficult chapter into something special.
“This achievement has been a real collective effort – staff, families, the County Council, Arc and the whole community standing shoulder to shoulder and working together with real purpose. Everyone has played their part in getting us to this point.
“We are delighted to now be back home, all together again, as one school community. You can feel the pride, the joy, and, above all, the sense of togetherness permeates around the whole learning village.
“Today, I feel more optimistic about the future of our school than I have ever done before.”
Following the discovery of structural issues as part of routine work in the main building, this building was permanently closed in December 2025.
All 350 St Peter’s pupils continued to have a school place at other local schools or facilities. These include James Peacock Infant School, Cotgrave Candle by Lane School, Jesse Gray Primary School and Millside Spencer Academy.
