WHEN staff at a Southampton school asked its pupils to come up with a design for a courtyard shelter they were not prepared for the resulting innovative idea.

Pupils at St Mark's Junior School in Shirley designed an extraordinary shelter to cover the unprotected courtyard of their Victorian building school. Staff were simply delighted.

The school's courtyard had proved problematic for some time with pupils having to cross it in all weathers to get from one classroom to another. With no protection from the rain and no shade in the sun, staff and pupils alike knew something had to be done. A year on Southampton mayor Parvin Damani opened the courtyard project shelter at a special ceremony. Head teacher Anne Steele-Arnett, said: "The children incorporated a waiting shelter for parents, a shelter from the rain and sun and a performing arts podium into their design. It was presented to a team of architects. They really are leaving behind a legacy for other children."

The shelter is made from wood and has a tiled roof and the performing arts podium dovetails out into the parents waiting area.

There is also a landscaped garden running alongside it.

Initially it was thought the project would take three years, it was finished in a third of the time due to everyone's support and generosity - especially from the local authority.

Said Anne: "It's a beautiful shelter completed in a day under one year. We're so pleased it is finally up and functional."