The only church school in Thetford is celebrating what is hoped will be an exciting new chapter in its history.
The Bishop's Church of England Primary School has just become an academy, having joined the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust.
Headteacher Dan Pickard said he was delighted about the school's new status, which means it is no longer overseen by Norfolk County Council.
Mr Pickard said: 'Being part of such a huge local authority means you can get a bit lost – we were one of more than 350 primary schools.
'Now we're one of less than 40 in the diocese academies trust, so we will be able to work much more closely with a group of other schools in a way that was not really possible before.
'This is an opportunity to really develop that church school ethos.'
The school, which has about 400 pupils, is also building a new nursery, which should open in January.
The aim is to have two classes for every year level at the school.
Bishop's was founded in 2009 by combining two schools which were there before.
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