MP Yvette Cooper went back to her old school on Saturday - but it wasn’t quite as she would have remembered it.

Wootey Juniors in Alton has undergone a £2.27m refurbishment that has not only transformed the building but created room for nearly a 100 more pupils.

Stating “I feel very proud to be here” she officially opened the revamped school on ‘Wootey Day’ in the presence of the Mayor of Alton Derek Gardner and 500 visitors.

On her arrival, the MP for Normanton, pontefract and Castleford was greeted by a gallery of art by the pupils which lined the way to the main entrance

It was also the 50th anniversary of a school being on the site and it wasn’t until 1972 that the two separate schools, the infants and the juniors were created.

Recalling her own time as a pupil Ms Cooper praised the valuable community work the school had done over the last 30 years.

“As a pupil this school inspired me to go on and learn and educate myself to be able to devote myself to public service. Also, Wootey’s was one of the best schools to encourage girls’ sports.”

In conclusion, she gave them some advice: “Keep looking forward, for if you keep looking back you’ll fall over.”

She also had the chance to meet her old headteacher Bernard Benham who, at 95, can still remember the names of the pupils when he taught at the school, and there were several of them among the crowd watching the ceremony who are now parents, and grand parents

Earlier, Ms Cooper had been welcomed by headmaster Tim O’Brian, who recalled when he first arrived at the school in 2014.

“I went into my office to find a bucket catching water dripping through the ceiling, ivy growing round the radiator and mould everywhere,” he said.

So, he was especially pleased at the school’s transformation and was grateful to the Department of Education and the Education Funding Agency for providing the £2.27m, so they now had the room to welcome up to 240 pupils, compared with the 185 they could originally take.