School sets the heritage standard (From The Bolton News)

School sets the heritage standard

8:40am Tuesday 26th January 2010

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HERITAGE experts have held up Bolton School as an example to the country on how school buildings should be modernised.

The building in Chorley New Road was constructed in 1924 although the school’s history goes back almost 500 years.

Now it has been cited by English Heritage as an example to local authorities to encourage them to refurbish old school buildings rather than demolishing them and rebuilding new ones.

English Heritage, with the backing of the government’s Department for Children, Schools and Families, has published new guidance entitled Refurbishing Historic Schools Buildings for local authorities, which says school buildings can symbolise an area’s history.

Historic buildings in the borough include Church Road Primary in Smithills which recently celebrated its 100th birthday while Westhoughton Parochial School’s current building dates back 150 years.

The report comes as Bolton Council is planning to refurbish or demolish and rebuild several schools across the borough as part of a multi-million pound Building Schools for the Future (BSF) initiative.

Primary schools are also being refurbished under a scheme called the primary capital programme.

Headmistress of Bolton School Girls’ Division, Gill Richards, said: “We are immensely proud of our historic building and know that it is of real appeal when pupils are applying to us. Many people — pupils and adults alike — feel inspired on a daily basis when they walk through the centre arch and enter the main quadrangle.

“The School's neo-Gothic facade and turrets are undoubtedly one of Bolton’s best known landmarks. We are currently undertaking an £18 million building project but have been very careful to ensure that the new Infant and Junior Girls’ School have been designed in a manner that is sympathetic to the original buildings that were built with an endowment by Lord Leverhulme."

Bolton Council said any work carried out on schools would be done with heritage in mind. A spokesman said: “We always look to refurbish where appropriate, particularly so in heritage buildings such as Rivington and Blackrod School and Turton School.”

English Heritage’s regional director, Henry Owen-John, said: “Many historic school buildings are beautifully designed and were built to last. Many are landmark buildings which mean so much to local communities.”

“We believe that local education authorities need to strike the best balance between replacement and refurbishment.”

schaudhari@theboltonnews.co.uk

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