A school in Karnobat now has a new gym, built under a national program to upgrade sports facilities at state and municipal schools. The gym at St. Cyril and St. Methodius secondary school opened today, with officials from the municipality, the regional education department in Burgas and the school's leadership on hand for the opening. The Karnobat municipality backed the project, part of a wider push to invest in school sports from 2024 to 2027. From today, the hall is ready for physical education classes and after-school sports activities.

Karnobat mayor Georgi Dimitrov cut the ribbon on the new gym, along with Pavlina Alexieva, senior physical education and sports expert at the Burgas regional education department, and school head teacher Margarita Paskaleva. The school now has a modern space for both regular classes and extra sports activities. The goal is to give children a gym that meets today's safety standards. The new hall is part of Karnobat's wider effort to improve sports facilities at its schools.

Money for the build came from a program run by the education ministry, which runs from 2024 to 2027. Under it, schools across the country are building new gyms, fixing up old ones and upgrading outdoor sports grounds. The ministry says almost 500 schools are taking part in various parts of the program. For gym construction and major repairs alone, it has approved more than 137.5 million levs. All work under the program must be finished by 31 December 2027.

This isn't the first time Karnobat has seen a project like this. Back in 2022, P.R. Slaveykov primary school got a new gym after its old one burned down in a fire — that time, the municipality paid for the whole build itself. The new hall at St. Cyril and St. Methodius secondary school continues that push to upgrade sports facilities at the town's schools.

For students, it means more room to move, train and play sports all year round.