The first primary school in Wales built under the Private Finance Initiative was opened by The Queen last Thursday during her day-long visit to Pembrokeshire.

The Pembroke Dock Community School was constructed on behalf of Pembrokeshire County Council on a new site in the town and encompasses state-of-the-art accommodation, IT and sporting facilities for 450 children aged between three years and 11.

It also houses the county's special unit for autistic children, including a sensory room designed to stimulate responses from the children.

The school was selected as a pathfinder project by the National Assembly for Wales and was built by KMC (Pembroke) Limited, the Cardiff-based subsidiary of national construction group, Macob.

The children moved into the school on September 10 from their former buildings across the road. The old school had been built in the late 1960s as a temporary solution scheduled to last only 10 years. The buildings were in very poor condition.

The Queen was accompanied on a tour of the school by headteacher, David Thorley.

Pembroke Dock Community School will be operated over a 30-year period by KMC (Pembroke) with services provided by Caxton Facilities Management Limited.

The managing director of KMC (Pembroke), Phil Morgan, said: "Pembroke Dock is another great example of what can be achieved under PFI. This is a very prestigious project for Macob and reflects the scale of quality of the schemes we are now securing."

Pembroke Dock School received a Special Commendation in its last inspection from HM Chief Inspector of Schools in Wales.