THE doors are set to be opened on a Ribble Valley school’s £3million new main building.

Construction started 15 months ago at Bowland High School with students being taught in temporary classrooms whilst the work has been carried out.

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The project, which was started under former headteacher Stephen Cox, is set to be handed over to school bosses on Monday with the pupils and staff set to move in on February 2.

The three-storey building, which has been erected between the library and sports hall block, houses a new dining and assembly space with views across to Pendle Hill, maths classrooms and a new library.

A new school yard will be opened after construction workers have cleared the site and it’s hoped that the whole school complex will be under one roof in the coming years.

The temporary classrooms, which have been based at the side of the school, will be taken away when the pupils have moved into the new building.

The former main building was built around 1865 and had been used as Foxley Bank Hydro before being converted into a hotel during the Edwardian era.

During the 1920s, the building became and orphanage and became a home for refugee children during the Second World War before it was developed into a school in 1949.

Students from the school helped to demolish the building in July 2014.

Andrea Yates, senior assistant headteacher, said: “This building will have a massive impact on the students and the staff.

“It’s great for the school to have got to the end of this project as we thought we would never get the money to begin with.

“We worried behaviour might suffer when we went into the temporary classrooms but the students have been amazing and it has not been a problem.

“This new building will benefit everybody and will become a great asset to the school.

“The new facilities are amazing and such a step up from what we have been using.”

Walking Dead star David Morrisey was given a guided tour of the new building when he visited to give a speech to students on Thursday.

The TV and film actor said: “It’s amazing and a great space for students to us’m sure it will come alive when the children are allowed in because that’s what will make this building special.”