LE RONDIN School and Centre threw open its doors to the public at the weekend for the first time since opening last year. Guided tours of the £13.9m building took place on Saturday as part of its Parents, Friends and Staff Association Summer Fete.

‘Its always been planned that there would be an open day for the school for the public to have a look around and we thought it would be a good time to hold it with the fair so that we could raise some money for the school,’ said acting head teacher Alan Brown.

Visitors were able to see the construction for themselves when they were shown round the school itself, the Health and Social Services Department Child Development Centre, the occupational, speech and physiotherapy rooms and the Education Support Service offices on the first floor.

Hampshire-based music teacher Lindsay Blondel said: ‘I think it is a fantastic facility. The thing that I’m most impressed with is the consultation that has obviously happened with the specialist staff so that the facility is perfect for them.’

The school became the centre of controversy earlier this year when allegations over the safety of the building hit the headlines.

Andy Stoaling kept his daughter-in-law up to date with the construction saga due to her involvement with a similar project in the UK. He toured the building and afterwards said he was impressed with the range of facilities and technology.

‘I now realise that there is a hell of a lot more to it than had originally struck me,’ he said.

Education Department project communications manager Nicky Bougourd led groups around the school and centre.

‘We’ve had a good few hundred people through and they have all been very interested. I think people did not really understand that it was not just the school here,’ she said.

Tours departed every 15 minutes and an average of 40 visitors went on each. Visitors were able to walk around the school’s sensory gardens and grounds unaccompanied.