Children eagerly count down the minutes until its is playtime at their school.

And now youngsters at Corton Primary School have even more reasons to wish the time away - so they can enjoy a new £15,000 play area.

On Tuesday the new artificial grass play area at the school was officially opened by the Bishop of Thetford, the Rt Revd Alan Winton.

And the bishop joined in the excitement as the pupils at the school showed him and parents at the opening ceremony what kind of fun they are having at break time with their new play equipment.

Children took part in a parachute game, played tag rugby and showed off their football and hockey skills.

The green play zone replaced a concrete area which had fixed play equipment, some of which was wooden and rotting away.

The school's headteacher Nicola Rowland made getting a new area her main priority when she took over the school in September 2012.

Mrs Rowland received strong support from governors, the Friends of Corton Primary School and staff who organised fundraising activities, which saw school secretary Keri Cotton parachuting from a plane and teacher Jemma Mantripp climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

And the hard work of all the fundraisers and the sporting and playful prowess of pupils was praised Bishop Alan.

He said: 'I think this is a wonderful play area. It gives the children somewhere to go and enjoy the fresh air and play with their friends. It should also help them to do well in the classroom.'

Mrs Rowland said: 'The old play area was in a dilapidated state. I became headteacher in September 2012 and my main priority was to create a wonderful open space for the children to play on.

'The children love their new play area and it is wonderful to see them using it.'

Funding for the play area also came from the school's budget.

In another boost, on June 1 Corton Primary School will gain Church of England voluntary assisted status, meaning it will have greater control of its budget and school policy. The change in status follows a consultation with parents and other stakeholders.