Principal Grant Excell was delighted with the funding because it would help take pressure off the school, which was now bulging at the seams.
He said the school had 230 pupils at present, but the number was expected to rise to 255 by the end of this year.
''That means we will be using our library as a classroom before the end of the year. So we are already at capacity. We started this year with all classrooms full.
''My projection is, in three years the roll could be anywhere between 280 and 300 pupils.''
He said Te Anau was going through a ''baby boom'', caused by an increasing number of people choosing to live in Te Anau and stay longer term because of an increase of tourism jobs in the area.
''Five years ago, there were tourist jobs, but they were only in the summer. Now, the shoulder season is getting so much longer that lots of the jobs are becoming more year-round.
''People are realising that Te Anau has got a fantastic lifestyle, it's affordable, there are now jobs, and we've got an amazing school. It's a fantastic place to bring up kids.''
Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced the funding yesterday, and said it would help the school cater for its projected roll growth.
''Te Anau Primary School is the heart of its local community and embraces positive activity, with students making the most of its location to enjoy the nearby lake, forest and parks.
''The Government is committed to meeting the needs of schools around New Zealand which require extra capacity to accommodate roll growth.''
Ms Kaye said the new classrooms would be modular, which meant they met standards of modern, permanent structures, but were more adaptable.
She said the $800,000 was part of a third round of investments in new classrooms under Budget 2016, which provided $882.5 million for school property, including new classrooms nationwide to meet roll growth.
About $37 million has been injected into school property in Otago and Southland since June.
This included about $25 million for Wakatipu High School to be relocated and rebuilt; up to $11 million to redevelop Arrowtown Primary School; $700,000 for two new classrooms at Mt Aspiring College in Wanaka; $350,000 for one new classroom at Pembroke School in Oamaru; $350,000 for one new classroom at Donovan Primary School in Invercargill; and $1.4 million for four new classrooms at Wanaka Primary School.
