A new $180,000 junior school playground funded by the Board of Trustees and PTA has also just been installed.
The school is in the middle of a $5-million-plus redevelopment that is part of the Ministry of Education rebuild programme following the earthquakes.
Oaklands School principal Margaret Trotter said she is thrilled students in their first two years of school have a lovely new area to learn in.
A new extension links two existing junior blocks to create a dedicated junior school area.
The extension is light and airy and has exposed timber beams in the ceiling, she said.
It has window seats and looks out over a native garden under development with students input.
Mrs Trotter said the block also features covered private decks for the use of junior school pupils, and a wet area for experimental learning.
Because Oaklands School buildings held up well in the earthquakes, the completed campus will be a unique mix of new buildings and refurbished existing long ‘Canterbury’ blocks from when the school was opened in the 1960s, Mrs Trotter said.
Work is underway to build a new office and a new flexible learning block as well as the refurbishment of an existing building to create a state-of-the-art hub for years 7 and 8 pupils.
This work will be finished by the end of this year, Mrs Trotter said.
Next year refurbishment of the two Canterbury blocks will happen, and the development of an outside courtyard where the whole school can gather.
