WINCHESTER Cathedral has been a place of learning for over 1,000 years.

Monks studied sacred texts in the cathedral priory for centuries and the site is a magnet for academics seeking understanding of English medieval history.

In modern times the cathedral's teaching hub, a Georgian house in the Inner Close, has had a younger clientele. More than 20,000 children visit the Education Centre every year - and they cover everything from Christian history and gargoyle pottery to core maths, English and ICT.

But the place had not been in a good way until a recent refurbishment. Rooms were cramped, toilets were poor and one child asked his teacher why there was paint coming off the walls.

“On the day that I moved out the ceiling collapsed in the main corridor,” director of learning Cheryl Bryan says. “It was almost as if the building said 'right, that's enough'.”

Eight months and £450,000 later, the 800-year-old building has reopened and rebranded as the cathedral Learning Centre. It looks and smells fresh and far more welcoming, particularly to disabled pupils who previously had restricted access.

Revamped using a £10.5 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the building has more capacity for visits from schools around Hampshire, Britain and the world.

“It's just a beautiful building,” Ms Bryan says. “Children think it's fantastic. If the children are happy and comfortable in their surroundings then it only helps their learning.”

The centre primarily serves children aged five to 14 but also takes a number of sixth-form classes from local colleges.

Learning officer Emma Hart says the cathedral taps into its expertise to help teachers with topics they are less familiar with, such as Anglo-Saxon history.

She says: “Some of the teachers, they've not been teaching it for 20 years, so they're not really comfortable with it. It's become a place for people to come and get support.”

But the biggest revolution comes next year. On unused land behind the centre, workers are building a £1 million auditorium for talks, performances and workshops. The new facility, including a new outdoor playground, will host up to 120 pupils and become a de facto lecture theatre for history and theology students at Winchester University.

This investment, part of a £3.5 million boost to the cathedral's education provision, allows staff to be forward-thinking. Ms Hart says the auditorium will make Winchester the first cathedral in Britain to host a major science fair.

But she is mindful that education here is a tradition spanning more than a millennium.

“It used to be a Benedictine monastery,” she says. “That was about people coming to the cathedral learning about God. It's quite nice that it carries on that tradition. Even when it's full of children there's quite an atmosphere of peace.

“It's a really fantastic resource,” she adds. “It makes me really happy coming in every morning.”