A ROMSLEY school’s impressive new outdoor facilities have been given a Paralympic seal of approval during an official opening.

Kidderminster golden girl Claire Cashmore was the guest of honour as St Kenelms CE Primary School held an open afternoon to show off their new outdoor area.

The school was given a £10,000 grant from the National Lottery Awards for All, that they match-funded, and used this to re-design the area.

The new school grounds include a secret garden, a bark area, a traversing wall, a crocodile pit, a treasure island area, a reading circle, an enchanted woodland, outdoor musical instruments and gazebo, and a mini beast house.

Visitors were also able to see the refurbished inside of the school that took place last year. The school and new facilities were blessed by Rev Dominic Melville, from St Kenelms Church.

Claire officially opened the new outdoor area after hosting an assembly for the pupils where she discussed her career.

She was also reunited with one of her old teachers as St Kenelms as head teacher Suzanne Shackleton taught 29-year-old Claire at Chaddesley Corbett First School when the swimmer was just five.

Claire, who was born in Redditch, said: “It was an absolute honour for me to open these fantastic new facilities at St Kenelms. I know the importance of team work and I can a lot of team work went into making this happen.”

Mrs Shackleton said: “We had a lot of people support us make this a reality and we thank them all for it.

“We live in a beautiful, natural area and when children are in touch with nature, it provides a real calming influence. Thanks to these facilities, we have some lovely activities for the children to do.”

She added: “We are delighted Claire supported the event. She was a really determined young lady at school and I remember being astonished by her swimming ability at that young age.”