A NEW £30 million campus opened its doors to children on Tuesday.

Mayfield School pupils started the term at the newly built Campus Whitehaven.

And St Benedict’s students moved into the new premises yesterday.

Gillian Temple, headteacher at Mayfield, an all-age school for pupils with special educational needs, said: “Things have gone really smoothly and children responded well to the fantastic new environment. It’s been quite amazing and we’re looking forward to spending the rest of the year here.

“The potential for learning is out of this world. It’s the realisation of a dream that we’ve been waiting for for four years. Today, seeing the children here, makes it all real.”

The two schools are in two blocks linked by a central block. There is new access onto Moresby Road and Red Lonning.

The £30 million investment for the campus came from partners including the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd, and Cumbria County Council.

Copeland Community Fund invested money for the provision of community sports facilities.

Originally known as Hensingham Junior Training Centre, Mayfield became a school in 1971, after the 1970 Education Act that classified students with special needs as suitable for education in school.