A £750,000 project for a new chapel and extension for a Ribble Valley school has been officially opened.

The work at St Joseph’s RC Primary School in Hurst Green was opened by The Bishop of Salford, the Rt Rev John Arnold, and was designed by architectural and planning consultancy Cassidy + Ashton.

The project was commissioned by the Society of Jesus Trust to improve opportunities for learning and worship at the school.

Cassidy + Ashton designed a new chapel, located on the upper storey of the existing fine stone building, along with an additional classroom constructed on the footprint of the old chapel, as part of a 170m2 two-storey extension.

Pupils, parents, staff and nearby residents were joined by the project’s delivery team to attend the Rt Rev Arnold’s blessing.

The new chapel will be used to conduct church services for parishioners and schoolchildren in addition to providing new opportunities for community engagement.

The renovation, completed by W Monks, has also created additional space, with flexible accommodation that provides multi-purpose dining and teaching areas for use by the school and parish, along with improved facilities for both worship and pastoral care.

Cassidy + Ashton designed the scheme to improve facilities while working sympathetically with the existing building and its rural location.

Accessibility has also been improved with a new entrance, staircase and lift.

Michael Hartley, director at Cassidy + Ashton, said: Cassidy + Ashton has a varied track record across the education, ecclesiastical and heritage sectors, which includes a recent refurbishment scheme for The Society of Jesus Trust, involving the restoration of the Grade I-listed St Peter’s Church at Stonyhurst. “For a faith school like St Joseph’s RC Primary, developing facilities for worship, pastoral care and community engagement alongside teaching areas and social spaces, is integral to the ethos of the school and we are delighted that we have been able to design this project in a way that delivers the community’s needs while working with its existing building.”

Headteacher Moya Smith said: “There has been much anticipation about this scheme and Cassidy + Ashton was able to translate our aims into a functional extension to the building that combines both our pastoral and educational goals.”