THE Archbishop of York was in Atherton on Tuesday when he officially opened a new infants building at St George's Primary School which cost nearly £1 million.

Dr David Hope -- the Archbishop who heads the Church of England in the north of the country -- agreed to do the honours at Derby Street after an invitation from the Rector of Atherton, the Rev Bill Baldwin, who is a governor at the school.

Simple

Mr Baldwin said: "People have asked how I managed to persuade Dr Hope to come to Atherton. It's simple -- I asked him!

"He is no stranger to the town, he visited Hesketh Fletcher High a few years ago and of course was once a curate just down the road in Liverpool."

Work on the £900,000 building began early last year and was completed in January. It brings together juniors and infants on one site, rather than a quarter of a mile apart on opposite sides of busy Bag Lane.

Stephen Burrow, head teacher at the 269 pupils school, said: "We wanted the school to integrate with the existing building but be contemporary in design and choice of materials.

"The result is fantastic."

The building has been designed to take full advantage of natural light, sunshine and ventilation with a covered area outside each classroom to provide shelter in bad weather.