The headteacher of one of the three Pendle schools to be bulldozed to make way for two new state-of-the-art schools said the disruption will be worth it.

Speaking at Edge End High School's annual prize-giving, Martin Burgess supported the school's inclusion in a bid for funds by Lancashire County Council, which, if successful, will transform secondary education in Burnley and Nelson.

He said, "They will be schools at long last fit for the purpose, with accommodation designed to teach all young people the skills and knowledge they will need in adult life, rather than current, so-called specialist rooms, modified or cobbled together from old-fashioned classrooms on shoe-string budgets.

"This will all be achieved at the cost of significant disruption and will require patience on the part of parents and children and diligence from the LEA and school managements to minimise the effects.

But Mr Burgess said the evening was about the present and how proud he is of the school community.

He said, "This is the occasion we have set aside annually to celebrate the successes of our young people. Those who have managed to overcome the trials and tribulations of adolescence, of fussy parents and teachers, of ridiculous school rules, of too much homework, of not-to-be-missed television programmes, of the belief that they are always right, of the pull of friends, football or cricket and of perpetual tiredness, to remind us they are actually a credit to themselves, their families and their school."

Pendle MP Gordon Prentice was the special guest and after addressing the audience he went on to present the prizes.