A Tauranga school is being given a helping hand to pay for their newly built community hall with a cheque for $150,000.

Tauranga's Rudolf Steiner School and Kindergarten is being presented with the cheque from the TECT Community Trust by Dame Susan Devoy at a ceremony today.

The renovated building The Whare at Tauranga's Rudolf Steiner School and Kindergarten in Welcome Bay.

The money was awarded under TECT's Community Amenities Grant, a fund that supports residents of the greater Western Bay of Plenty region by helping to provide a range of suitable and accessible community facilities.

Given to the Waldorf Schools Trust, proprietors of the Tauranga Rudolf Steiner School and Kindergarten, the money will go towards paying for the new building called The Whare.

TECT trustees who selected the project say they are impressed not only by the amount of time the new hall will be available for community use - weekdays after 3.30pm, weekends and school holidays - and the programme of adult education courses that will be offered, but also with the unique character, superior acoustics, design and history of the building that sets it apart from any other in Tauranga.

The Whare started its life as the Kokiri Carving Centre, an all timber, high-ceilinged building used to house the Maori Carvers Training Scheme for teenage boys from 1981 to 1998.

It is thought the timber from the building originally came from one of the early schools built in Tauranga in the 1800s, demolished in the 1970s and used to construct several buildings including a replica Maori marae.

The original building, whilst not salvageable in its entirety, was strengthened and used as inspiration for the restoration and further development.

With a design arising out of the principles of Organic or Natural Architecture, which seeks to promote harmony between the people who use a building and the natural environment it resides in, the hall was created and will be used for a multitude of purposes.

The Rudolf Steiner School was started in 1986 by a group of founders who mortaged their own homes to create the school set in park-like grounds on the edge of Welcome Bay.

The school accommodates 195 primary school students and 70 early childhood placements.

Dame Susan Devoy presents a cheque for $150,000 on behalf of TECT Community Amenities Grant.