A historic primary school has officially opened its doors after being rebuilt.

Walker Primary School’s old buildings at Waterfall Road in Southgate were demolished to make way for a brand new, modern school with spacious classrooms, an IT suite, studio and large playground.

The building opened earlier this year but because of Covid restrictions, celebrations were postponed.

Pupils, parents, staff and governors were finally given the opportunity to gather to cut the ribbon in a special ceremony to mark the occasion.

In a series of performances, the children sang, danced and played instruments before the school was officially declared open.

The two-form entry school with 420 pupils was granted planning permission in May 2019 to demolish the existing buildings and build a new school on the site.

Despite disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, the school was completed at the end of 2020 and the children moved into their new classrooms in January 2021.

Frances Warhurst, headteacher at Walker Primary School, said: “The children are incredibly excited about their new school and have been waiting patiently for such a long time to be able to share their joy with their families.

“Ongoing Covid restrictions and wet weather meant that we had to divide guests into small groups and cut several ribbons throughout the week! But the rain didn’t dampen our spirits and the children were delighted to finally show off their new building.”

The headteacher continued: “I am extremely grateful to everyone who has supported us through the journey of rebuilding our wonderful new school, and I’m proud of all the children and staff who worked so hard to make our official opening such a success.”

Plans for the new building were deferred in December 2018 after concerns were raised that the design could harm the surrounding conservation area.

Cllr Stephanos Ioannou, Conservative member for Southgate and a school governor at Walker, said the rebuilding was necessary, as the old building was in such a state that teachers had to place buckets around corridors to catch water falling from leaking roofs and the headteacher had had to mop up a flooded classroom.

Walker Primary School originally opened in 1954, named after the Walkers, an English cricketing family, who lived in Southgate.