THE Archbishop of York will open a £200,000 development at a village school next week.

Dr David Hope will be joined by educationalist Sir Christopher Ball for the ceremony at Husthwaite CE Primary, near Easingwold, next Thursday.

The project, to create a library and classroom, was funded with the help of a local campaign and grants from the county council and the Esmee Fairburn Trust.

Sir Christopher is an education advisor to the trust and he suggested using Husthwaite as one of five schools across the country for their Shall They All Read scheme.

His project of developing Husthwaite as a blueprint for the ideal rural primary school follows his long-standing links with the local community.

He was evacuated there during the Second World War.

An innovative piece of technology in the new library is that youngsters can borrow a book by putting their thumb on a machine, which recognises their individual print.