A VILLAGE primary school is looking forward to work on an extension starting next week.

The expansion at Barton Church of England school, near Darlington, will provide a new hall, kitchen, office and staff room. The old canteen building will also be demolished to create a car park.

The work, which starts on Monday, has been funded by a combination of North Yorkshire County Council's education services, school funds and money raised by the Friends of the School.

Headteacher Liz Trewitt said: "We hope the extension will be completed in March 2004. It will certainly make a big difference to the school. We plan to plant a time capsule at some point to tell people in the future about how we live today."