A PRIVATE school near Romsey has been given a £2.5million state-of-the-art new and green look.

A new dining room and kitchen block along with a new art, design, technology and modern foreign languages classrooms has been added to Stroud School in Highwood Lane.

Head Alastair Dodds said the enhancements were long overdue and have made a big difference to children returning to school this autumn.

“The state-of-the-art dining room gives the children a tree top view of the Tadburn Valley thanks to an imaginative design by the architects Stride Treglown,” he said.

The design of both new buildings includes cedar cladding. and a grass roof on the dining room and this is to complement the school’s rural location.

The new kitchens replace the Victorian kitchen in Highwood House which has served the school over the last 60 years and the space released in the main house has been converted into a large classroom.

The prep school which comes under the umbrella of King Edward VI School has also had a £330,000 bio-mass heating system installed.

“The merger with King Edward VI has given Stroud the wonderful opportunity to invest in new facilities which significantly enhances the children’s educational experience,” said Mr Dodds.