Major work being carried out at 500-year-old Blackburn school

The work to fix the roof and fire alarm systems at the historic Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School (QEGS) is expected to be complete by the end of term.

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Headteacher Simon Corns said the project would not have been possible if the school had still been charging fees, but was thanks to state funding.

QEGS, which was founded in 1509, charged fees of more than £10,000 a year before it became a free school in September 2014.

The school has received two grants from the Education Funding Agency’s (EFA) condition improvement fund of £319,000 last year and £380,000 this year.

It received a separate grant of £330,000 to upgrade the fire alarm system in several buildings on the site.

Mr Corns said: “It is very exciting that we have been able to invest so much thanks to the EFA condition improvement fund.

“It is an old building. The main one is a 1884 Victorian building and there has been the occasional leak.

“It has been a great opportunity to do the work properly so that all of our buildings are in top notch condition.

“It means there will be scaffolding up for our open day on October 1, but this is a sign we are moving forward.” He said the noisy work was carried out over the summer holidays to minimise disruption and it’s scheduled to finish before the end of this term in December.

“It is the sort of investment we would not have been able to make as a fee-charging school. The money would have had to come from fees,” he said.

“There has been the odd problem with roofs since I have been here for the last nine years. We have dealt with problems as they have come up, but this is a much more ambitious project that will secure things for a lot longer.”

He added the new modern fire alarm system will now sound in different buildings and includes strobe lighting for pupils who are hard of hearing.

The West Park road school will hold its open day on Saturday, October 1 between 9.30am and 1.30pm.