School's back and everything is new for St Mary's pupils

Pupils at St Mary's School in Mosgiel celebrate the start of the 2013 school year at their new school next to the Holy Cross Conference Centre yesterday. Photo by Stephen Jaquiery.

St Mary's School in Mosgiel was filled with pupils wandering around wide-eyed and scratching their heads yesterday, wondering how their old classrooms could have changed so much.

Long banks of classrooms from the school's former site in Church St were picked up late last year and moved along the road, where they were reconfigured in a pod shape, next to the Holy Cross Conference Centre.

As the new $2 million school opened for the first day of classes yesterday, pupils tried in vain to find anything they recognised from their old school site, principal Michael Brosnahan said.

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''You wouldn't recognise it from the old school in a million years.

''The kids and parents were very excited.

''They were saying things like, 'This is awesome', 'Wow', and 'I can't believe how much it's changed'.

''I think it was a bit like Christmas again for them.''

Despite the initial confusion, the pupils gave their new school a big thumbs-up.

''I love it. The best thing is the toilets are clean and shiny,'' Pyper Johnson (10) said.

But the novelty was slightly lost on 5-year-old Samantha Diack, a new entrant and essentially a first-day pupil at the new site.

''It's good. The best thing about school is playing with my friends,'' she said.

A small ceremony was held yesterday to welcome the school's 120 pupils on to the new site. An official opening ceremony will be held on Friday, with Bishop Colin Campbell and local politicians, Mr Brosnahan said.