Leaking roofs will soon be a thing of the past for a primary school after it received government cash for repairs.

Cromer Road Primary School, in New Barnet, made a succesful bid to the priority school building programme, which pays for repairs and replaces dilapidated school buildings.

Headteacher Helen Schmitz said: “We are absolutely thrilled, and so are the parents. It’s about time. We have been fighting for the past ten years to get something done. In one of the classrooms, every time it rains it falls through the windows. They are in great need.

“When I first came here in 2005, I was told I would have a brand new school by 2009, but it fell through. We got to the point where we thought it would not happen.

“When you get rain coming through and it’s freezing cold, you think it’s not fair, children should not be in these buildings. But now there’s an end in sight.”

Surveyors will visit the school, which has 420 pupils, in the next couple of months to assess the work required.

Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, said: “I am delighted by the news that Cromer Road Primary School will receive this much-needed funding. It is a great school but some of their buildings are in a very poor state.

"Some of Cromer Road's school rooms are in 1940s temporary structures which are long past their use-by date. This rebuild will provide significant improvements to the educational environment for pupils.”