A million-dollar makeover is on the way for Fairfield School after the Ministry of Education deemed four of its classrooms ''at the end of their days''.
Principal Andy Larson said the four prefabricated rooms were placed at the back of the school in 1979, to accommodate the large number of pupils who came to the school following the Abbotsford landslip.
While they were still usable, Mr Larson said the buildings were well past their use-by date, and did not allow for the modern co-operative style of teaching common in schools now.
''The ministry has been down to look at them, and they've said that they are at the end of their days.''
Mr Larson said plans for a replacement facility were still being finalised, but it was hoped it would look similar to those at St Clair School and George Street Normal School.
''We're looking at more of a pod concept.
''It's going to have an open-plan area in the middle, where we will have things like cooking and art areas, and on each corner of the rectangle-shaped open area there will be four spaces for people to work in, plus two withdrawal areas where teachers can work with individuals or small groups of children.''
It was hoped the facility would create a co-operative modern learning environment that would be future-proofed for the next several decades, he said.
Because building plans had not yet been finalised, the school's board of trustees did not yet have an official price for the building project.
However, it was estimated to cost about $1 million, and funding would come from the Ministry of Education, he said.
Construction was expected to begin before the end of this year, and it was hoped it would be completed in mid-April next year, in time for the start of term 2.
