An innovative eco-friendly school built on stilts, is celebrating the completion of building work next week with a time capsule burial. The £9m Irk Valley Community school on Waterloo Road in Lower Crumpsall, will open later this month and replace the existing St Thomas school on the opposite side of the road. An unusual feature of the new school is that it is built on stilts to minimise the one in 100 year risk of flooding. The stilts range in height from 60cm at the front to 1.5m at the back with a series of raised platforms leading to a walkway that will allow pupils to evacuate the school in the event of a flash flood. Retired headteacher, John Ashworth, 69, who worked at St Thomas from 1984 until 2000, has been invited as guest of honour to bury the time capsule, along with former administrator Gwen Allen. John designed the St Thomas school badge, which will be used on the uniform at the new school. St Thomas school was built in 1850 at a cost of £1,675 and was called Lower Crumpsall National School. The land was provided by Edward Lloyd, one of the founders of Lloyds Bank. Carved stone lettering from the existing building has been retained and incorporated in the new school grounds. The time capsule will contain copies of the original purchase papers for the school, a history of those involved in the school in the 1800s, including the Lloyd family, designs of the new school and examples of what school life is like for current pupils along with photos. A plaque on the site of the burial will request that it is opened in 100 years time. The new school is a two-form entry, modern, purpose built eco-friendly school and nursery that has been designed with a commitment to the environment. It will accommodate 420 children and a 60-place nursery. And work has been ongoing with both the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside and the Irk Valley Project to develop an environmental resource centre at the school and maximise the benefit of its close location to the River Irk. To control the collection of rainwater from the school's drains and gutters, an attenuation pond has been created that releases the overflow water into the river. This pond will form an ecological habitat area and will be used as a teaching aid by the school. Headteacher, Gary Schofield, says: "We're thrilled to be just weeks away from moving into our new school. It's thanks to the commitment of our parents, pupils, governors and the community as a whole that we are on the threshold of a truly wonderful new era for our school. We have all worked extremely hard to ensure we have a school that children can flourish in, that teachers enjoy working in and that we are all justifiably proud of." Councillor Sheila Newman, Executive Member for Children's Services, Manchester City Council, says: "This marks another milestone in the regeneration of north Manchester. The school promises to be an innovative, modern, learning environment and something that the whole community can be both proud of and benefit from." The new two storey school will have a range of facilities including 12 classrooms, a library, a sprung floor hall, computer suite, music rooms, IT suite, kitchen, dining room, floodlit multi-use games areas and cycle tracks. It is part of a national investment in primary schools called the 'Primary Capital Programme' which aims to ensure that all pupils are taught in quality school environments which facilitate personalised learning and enable them to offer a wide range of services to their local communities. The school was designed by Robinson Architects and built by construction company Morgan Ashurst which has local offices in Salford Quays. "As a leading education builder, we are proud to use our experience to deliver a sustainable school which will benefit not only children and teachers, but also the wider community in north Manchester for the long term," says Jim Morgan, Morgan Ashurst area director in Manchester. "These buildings really do have the 'wow factor' and we hope children feel inspired by their new surroundings."

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