Children at a Leyton school are jumping for joy after having their first lessons in a new building following a £10 million redevelopment project.

George Mitchell School in Farmer Road welcomed pupils inside the two-storey building after their half-term break for a tour of the drama studio, science and technology room, library and a hall equipped with audio visual equipment.

It will house classrooms for early years and primary school pupils on the same site for the first time in the school’s history.

Year 6 pupil Mark said: “It makes a big difference to your learning because you have much better equipment to work with.

“The outdoor space is amazing because it means we have lots more room to play.”

His classmate Ismail added: “It is so much bigger and more modern now than it was before.”

The move comes after their peers in George Mitchell Secondary School moved into their own new £20 million building in January.

The work was carried out by developers Bowmer & Kirkland and funded by the education funding agency under the Priority School Building Programme.

Headteacher Saeed Hussain said: “As a school we are very fortunate to have facilities to match and exceed anything you will find in the country.

“Both our primary and secondary school students have access to the kind of state-of-the-art technology and equipment which will have a real impact on their education.

“Our educational standards have consistently been among the very best in the country but now we have facilities across the primary and secondary school to match.”