GASTON COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- Around 30,000 students in Gaston County headed back to school on Wednesday, August 13, marking the start of a new academic year.

And for some, that means stepping into a brand-new school building for the very first time.

Queen City News was at Sherwood Elementary on Wednesday to catch all the back-to-school buzz just down the street from the brand-new Grier Middle School.

District officials gave QCN a sneak peek inside the two-story facility, which features over 40 classrooms, a media center and library, and entrances designed to ease traffic flow on campus.

Perhaps most importantly, the new Grier Middle School brings major upgrades in student safety. School officials said the former building, which dated all the way back to 1956, had outdoor cl

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