A brand new primary school has opened in a Suffolk town following the merger of two schools and a refurbishment costing more than £300,000.

The Seckford Educational Trust (SET) Felix Primary School has opened in Maidstone Road, Felixstowe, after Causton Junior School and nearby Maidstone Primary School joined together to form one school with 310 pupils.

Headteacher Lucy Thompson said the new school would benefit the pupils’ learning as bringing them all on one site enabled them to progress from reception to year 6.

In addition, siblings who had previously been separated by the different schools were now in one place while staff in reception years could more easily support their colleagues in years 5 and 6.

The physical improvements to the school took place during a six-week period over the summer and included extension work to the reception classroom, the specialist provision and the library to provide better facilities for the children to enhance their reading.

Outdoor play areas have also been improved.

Ms Thompson said: “It has been really good. It has been so much better for our families visiting one site to drop off their children. We have got lots of siblings on site together and year 6 can support children at lunchtimes by doing peer reading.

“It creates opportunities for staff to be able to work more closely together.”

The idea of moving onto one site was mooted a couple of years ago, she said, as staff used to link across between the two schools, but they were effectively working as one school.

SET chief executive Mark Barrow said: “The building we have will allow us to have all the children in one place as one primary school. We have not lost the heart of the school, but we will be able to offer better facilities and better outdoor spaces.”

A special guest also attended the launch of the new school on Friday- British discus thrower Bill Tancred, a former pupil at the school.

Mr Tancred, a bronze and silver medallist in successive Commonwealth Games, said: “I just think it is an incredible achievement and what a wonderful school and what I love is the enthusiasm shown by all the pupils as they strive to progress in life.”