The Government has announced plans to revolutionise half of England's primary schools so children can learn in 'inpsired' surroundings. Olivia Richwald toured on school where a new building has made all the difference.

THE headteacher of St Gregory's Catholic Primary School, in Stockton, describes it as a "posh school for normal kids".

At Christmas, pupils moved into the £2.4m building that epitomises the vision of "inspired" primaries set out by the Government yesterday.

But it was not always that way. Last year, the bill for replacing vandalised windows at the school was £12,000; since the new school was built, no windows have been smashed.

The school -on two nearby sites in Stockton -was falling apart and pupils were working in depressing conditions.

Headteacher Dr Peter Mackie said: "The roof did not work any more; water was coming in through the ceiling. We had damp in the floors and the walls -it smelled musty.

"We had a computer suite in a converted cloakroom and at least three printers were ruined because damp plaster fell on them. We just couldn't teach ICT, you could not fit a class in there.

"There was no control over the heating -we froze in the winter and boiled in the summer."

When Dr Mackie took over at the school -created by merging St Peter and St Paul's and English Martyrs' in 2002, he realised that the old buildings were in no fit state for teaching youngsters.

He said: "The school was falling down, it was tatty and it smelled.

"We serve two big council estates. The kids here need to feel like they matter. If the school is tatty, you are sending out a message that it is all they are worth. The first thing I did was paint the toilets."

At the new St Gregory's, natural light is bounced off colourful walls. At the heart of the school, there is a circular learning centre, with 30 laptops, a library and three huge flat-screen TVs that connect to the teacher's computer.

The black laptops are wireless-enabled and can be taken between classes.

In the eight classrooms and school hall, there is underfloor heating, which means no radiators to clutter up the walls. The floors are carpeted so children's chairs no long scrape across bare boards.

Dr Mackie said: "The new school has made a world of difference. The children feel important and self-esteem really matters.

"The old hall had a rippled floor. It was horrible."

The new hall has an asymmetric roof and electric shutters that hide storage rooms. The walls of the hall are covered with children's comments on their new building.

"It is nice, it makes me feel good," wrote Alicia.

"My new school makes me happy," said Harry.

Another pupil said, in spider writing: "I feel fantastic because I have a laptop to myself."

Another pupil, Ralph, said: "My new school makes me feel brand new."

Outside, there is a large smooth playground secured by a tall fence.

Dr Mackie said: "It is bigger so children don't bump into each other so often and when they fall over, they don't get grit in their knees anymore.

"I am almost embarrassed to talk about it, because there are so many others that don't have this."