SCHOOLS throughout North Yorkshire have seen a welcome development in the last couple of years.

Substantial amounts of money have been allocated to be spend specifically on capital projects, which can be devolved over a three-year period if a large project is in mind.

A number of schools have decided to create a separate computer suite, but at Bainbridge we have not pursued that option because we have already decided that, with our small class sizes, the computers are more useful within the actual classroom, where they can be used for groups as part of the class lesson.

So each class already has its own mini-suite of computers, with a total of 12 giving child-computer ratio of one to three.

When the school governors were considering the capital money, they looked at the areas of school which were seen to need enhanced facilities.

Starting this summer, the school library is to be relocated along two sides of the school hall, but a bigger project is planned to start in summer next year.

A corner of the school is to be extended by about 300 sq ft and the authority's architects are about to prepare a feasibility study.

The juniors will straightaway have a larger area for the cloakroom, but it is the school nursery which will get the biggest benefit.

This will be a big bonus for the wider community, as the nursery also serves three-year-olds from beyond our school's usual catchment.

The second phase of the project is to link through from the nursery to the extension in 2003, to create a purpose-made wet area.

No longer will Sue Thompson, the nursery teacher, have to carry buckets of warm water from the staff room, and the sand and water can be kept separate from other activities. Although the present room is designated large enough for the 13 children, such is the range of activities on offer that children at present overspill into the school hall.

More space in the nursery will hopefully lessen the need for this.

Once the feasibility study is complete and the tenders are in, the community at large will be kept informed of the progress of the extension.

We intend to circulate details to the whole area that the nursery traditionally serves, to ask for help with extra fundraising and sponsorship.

David Jackson, headteacher, on behalf of the governors