THE Osborne family, who contributed £80,000 to a building project at their children's primary school, took part in the opening ceremony last week.

The Osborne family, who have lived in Luckington since the early 1900s, has had four generations pass through the village school.

So when the school wanted an atrium to link the main Victorian building to a hall opened by actress Sheila Hancock last year, the family dug deep in its pockets.

Mike Osborne was at Friday's opening with cousins Miriam and Brian, whose mother Joan also donated a large part of the £80,000.

He said 13 members of the family had been taught at the school and they wanted to make sure many more generations had the opportunity to be taught there.

"The school is at the heart of the village and this will help keep it going for many years to come," he said.

"Not many villages of our size have all the amenities you need, like a school, shop, post office and pub.

"The kids have a lovely school there and it was great to see it in its finished state."

The new building provides a kitchen, toilets, reception area, library and extra teaching space.

The cost of the building work over the last few years at the school is about £500,000.

Acting headteacher David Sibun said he was delighted with the atrium.

"It is superb," he said. "It's got a lovely new reception area with a skylight and lots of natural light.

"We've got a new workspace in there, as well as a kitchen and toilets.

"The children always have smiles on their faces when they go through there.

"Linking it to the new hall gives us a super accommodation here."

Chairman of governors Lesley Bennett said everyone at the school was delighted at the donation from the Osbornes.

"We are all tremendously grateful to the Osbornes for their generous gift," she said.

"We could not have had a stronger statement of the value the school has to our community and all the children will benefit from their kindness.

"They wanted to make sure the school continues, because a village without a school has not got a heart."

North Wiltshire MP James Gray was at the opening, along with a number of parents.

Mrs Bennett added: "It's a lovely, large space and we hope the village will use the facilities here, as well as the school."