School officials, students and members of the public gathered in a new gym added to the Midale School on Thursday morning to celebrate $2.5 million worth of renovation work completed over the past year.

In addition to a new gym, the old gym in the centre of the school now is home to a library and open area space for students, while the location of classrooms for high school and elementary students was switched around.

"The renovations are very substantial and very useful," said Weyburn Central School Board chair Donnett Elder before the short ceremony. "This will be conducive to good learning and will last for years and years." It's very up-to-date, she added.

Elder said the exchanging of the high school and elementary space will be a big boost for the school.

The local community held its own fund-raising events to upgrade the stage that had originally been planned for the gym.

The Midale School was built in 1958, with an addition constructed in 1964. Elder said the number of students, at about 180 now, has stayed fairly stable over many years.

Central Board education director Walt Morris told the group the facility is second to none in Saskatchewan. "It's superb." All children, regardless of where they live in the province, should have the opportunity to be educated in a facility like this, he said. Morris said the addition of the gym made it possible to upgrade some classroom space for kindergarten students, and provides rooms for special education classes and private tutorial rooms. The staff will have a first-class facility to work in and the community will have access to the gym for its activities, he said. The gym is now the largest space in Midale.

"We have a great deal to be thankful for in this Christmas season."

The Central board representative for the area, Dan Vandenhurk, told the group a project of this magnitude was a big task.

"It's right that Midale and the surrounding RM, with its high assessment that has contributed more than its share in the past years, should be the first to benefit from amalgamation," he said.