Andy Pring, the manager of The Old School in Church Street, said this is the first major renovation work to be carried out since the building was first repurposed in 1995.
The venue was the village school until 1992 when Holy Trinity C of E (Aided) Primary School moved to its Glebe Road premises.
People can hire the halls for all kinds of events, including children’s parties, Christenings, wedding receptions, anniversary parties, wakes and meetings.
Andy told the Middy: “The planning for this work had been a long time in the pipe-line (pardon the pun) and one of the former chairmen on the Old School Board (Guy Berkley) was so passionate about ensuring the project was done that he left some money towards it in his will.”
Andy said some of the money for the upgrade came from a £2,000 grant from South East Water Mid Sussex Community Fund.
“The Old School and the church paid 50/50 for the lion’s share, which is our investment in the community,” said Andy. “The work was carried out by Stefan Capella and his team from Home Developments Sussex.”
Stefan said: “As a frequent user of the old school it would be a proud moment to add something to its history.”
Andy continued: “The old toilets had been separated into male/female rooms. These rooms were knocked into one large unisex toilet which has increased the number of toilet cubicles available, especially for ladies as they only previously had two cubicles. It has been a pleasure being involved with the new design and we have ensured that we made the toilet room as practical and user friendly for our users as possible, which is why we have included a purpose build baby-changer and the toddler seat. I have learned from experience how useful one of these is! While these toilets are not fully accessible (there are steps up to them) we have another fully accessible toilet in the other part of the building.”
The Old School’s website at www.oldschoolcuckfield.co.uk said the building originally dates from the early 16th century with extensive additions being made in the 19th century. It is operated by The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Cuckfield. The website said The Old School was acquired with financial assistance from the Kleinwort Charitable Trust. It added that refurbishment work revealed many previously unknown Tudor features, which have been preserved.

1. The Old School Cuckfield
New toilets at The Old School Cuckfield Photo: Andy Pring

2. The Old School Cuckfield
New toilets at The Old School Cuckfield Photo: Andy Pring

3. The Old School Cuckfield
New toilets at The Old School Cuckfield Photo: Andy Pring

4. The Old School Cuckfield
New toilets at The Old School Cuckfield Photo: Andy Pring