Pupils of a faith school have finally got the chance to see their brand new “intelligent” place of learning – and it seems to be a hit.

Children from years 4, 5 and 6 got a sneak preview of the new Ysgol Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd near Ruthin, which is just down the road from their outdated old school building.

It boasts a building management system (BMS) which automatically controls air quality, light and heating, along with interactive 4k TVs in every classroom that can be covered with a whiteboard for more conventional lessons.

The school is a timber frame construction which boasts energy efficiency and solar panels to generate its own electricity.

Classrooms open out onto a green space, with soft play area, multi-use games court and even a greenhouse so they can grow their own produce.

Headteacher Helen Oldfield said the building was a world away from the one they’ve been used to.

She said: “The children have waited a long time and with these facilities I think the children will flourish.

“One of the children stood in a new classroom and asked if this was where we would have assembly. I said: ‘No, we have a hall and a piano now.'”

Ms Oldfield said the old building, which is a few hundred yards along the road, didn’t have a staff room, and children had to eat lunch at their desks before clearing away so lessons could restart.

Some children also had to go to nearby Ysgol Borthyn for physical education lessons.

For those who got a sneak preview today, it appeared it was worth the wait.

Sovay Hall, aged nine, said she was “a little bit shocked” to see her new place of learning, but Zora Hughes, aged eight, summed it up best.

She said: “My brain almost exploded. I like everything. It’s nothing like our old school.”

The £5.3m Church of Wales school is a collaboration between Denbighshire Council, the Diocese of St Asaph and Welsh Government’s 21st Century Schools programme, but it’s not been without its problems.

Welsh language campaigners and parents of Ysgol Pentrecelyn pupils fought a bitter battle to stop the school being merged with Ysgol Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd because it was bilingual and they felt it would harm the Welsh Language.

After a protracted saga that involved court action, the idea was shelved by the local authority and work was planned for the new site.

Later, a mix-up about where sewerage would be sent meant they had to negotiate with a private land owner, despite the school being essentially ready.

It should have opened for the autumn term in 2019, but permission to get on with re-routing the waste wasn’t given until September.

Rosalind Williams, director of education for the diocese of St Asaph, said: “Any school consultation is going to raise questions. What we have done here is given a positive offer for education in the 21st century.”

The diocese has 50 faith schools across North Wales and it is pushing forward with modernisation plans, she said.

She added: “Our curriculum is built on Christian values. There has been so much consulting to make sure we give everybody something to be proud of.

“Learning in this environment is going to be exciting for the children.”

Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Denbighshire council’s lead member for education, said: “This is a different world for these children. One child said to me ‘what’s a hall’ as they’ve never had this facility before.

“It gives these children a learning environment some in Wales have never had.”