HEAD TEACHERS in Blackburn are today facing the prospect of empty classrooms during the final week of term after it was discovered the last day will fall after the start of the town's traditional holiday weeks.

Schools under the local education authority at Blackburn with Darwen Council will not break up for summer until Wednesday July 19 -- after the town's annual fortnight begins.

And some parents have been caught off guard by the change as the borough's schools usually break up in advance of the Blackburn holidays.

One woman, who does not wish to be named, said: "It's terrible. Many people have booked holidays for the weeks and now face taking their children out of school. Lots of people still take the traditional weeks and schools used to break up before them.

"To change the end of term like this is going to cause major problems."

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said all schools had been sent a list of term dates for the 1999/2000 school year that should, in turn, have been sent to parents 12 months ago. He said: "The reason for the late end-of-term date is because Easter falls early next year. We asked head teachers what they wanted to do to compensate through the usual consultative channels and they were in agreement that they wanted a late finish and to get started as soon as possible in September."

Deputy head of Blackburn's Pleckgate High Robin Campbell said they did not know what to expect during the final week of term.

He said: "We might get mass exodus, we might not. We will have to wait and see. It is a concern."