A HAMPSHIRE school is celebrating the completion of a £2.3m sports hall that it describes as the biggest and best in Hampshire.

The long-awaited facility, first suggested about 40 years ago, has transformed part of Hardley School and Sixth Form in Long Lane, Holbury.

New Forest East MP Dr Julian Lewis performed the opening ceremony in the presence of head teacher Bob Underwood.

Dr Lewis said: "The school has waited a long time for a sports hall but has been rewarded with one of the finest buildings of its type in the area.

"Some of the facilities are not dissimilar to what you'd expect to find in a very upmarket spa."

Dr Lewis described the hall as an impressive structure that blended in with the rest of the school and added: "It's cleverly linked to the old gymnasium as well as being beautifully finished inside."

The hall has been built at the back of the 1,000-pupil school and overlooks the playing fields. It includes facilities for a range of sports, plus separate changing rooms for teenagers taking part in indoor and outdoor activities. It is described on the school's website as "the best and largest in Hampshire".

Plans for the new building were approved in March last year.

A report produced by the county council said Hardley was one of the few secondary schools in Hampshire that still lacked decent indoor sports facilities.

The council contributed almost £2m to the scheme with the school finding the rest of the money. An open-air swimming pool that was no longer functional was filled in and replaced by a landscaped courtyard as part of the project.

A school spokesman said; "The new sports hall is a tremendous asset. It's a wonderful facility for pupils to enjoy and be proud off."