TWO new learning support classrooms equipped with the latest technology have opened at Sheldon School.

They are part of a new £440,000 facility which was unveiled last Friday after months of building work.

An amplification system records the teachers’ commentary so pupils can play it back alongside the PowerPoint presentation after the lesson.

The rooms also have the quietest computers available to avoid their hum being amplified by a hearing aid.

Kim McKenna, staff governor and senior teaching assistant, said: “This will make a real difference to the learning support faculty and the pupils who are taught here.”

Sheldon School teaches eight children with hearing impairments and is the designated school in North Wiltshire for them.

The acoustic equipment is being trialled in the new facility and may be extended around the school, firstly to the sixth form centre.

Liberal Democrat MP for Chippenham Duncan Hames opened the extension, which also comprises a new and improved reception area for pupils and visitors, and an office and three treatment rooms for the nurse.

Wiltshire Council provided £40,000 towards the learning support facility.

Head teacher Neil Spurdell said the school had chosen to allocate £400,000 to the project itself because it knew that the improvements would significantly enhance the environment for so many at Sheldon.