THE principal of Eden Boys’ School has said it was “a pleasure” to welcome the army and other volunteers on their grounds - creating a ‘real buzz’ for pupils and the community.

Troops, medics and volunteers descended upon the school last week as the vaccination bus parked up at the Halliwell facility.

More than 4,500 vaccinations were given out during their seven-day stay in a phenomenal effort to attempt to bring the borough’s infection rates down - which it has helped do.

Sue Gill-Daintith, school principal, welcomed the opportunity for the school to support the NHS’ vaccination drive.

She said:“When the NHS contacted the school about the possibility of hosting a vaccination bus here, we were only too happy to help support the enormous efforts to vaccinate local people as quickly as possible. As well as having a vaccination bus at the school, we offered the NHS the use of our sports hall over the half-term holiday.

“A little over a week ago, pupils were sitting exams in the sports hall and just a few hours later it had been transformed into a 15-bay vaccination centre – it was an incredible effort by the whole team.”

Since the vaccination centre closed on Sunday night, the school was cleaned and sanitised - all set for rows of pupils sitting exams in the sports hall on Monday morning.

The vaccine hub offered both first and second vaccine doses - jabbing an average of around 650 people a day.

And Mrs Gill-Daintith said there was a ‘real buzz’ around the school in the days that the vaccination bus was at the school.

She said: “The school is normally tranquil during the holidays, but there was a real buzz in the school and it was been inspiring to see everyone work together to help our community. It’s been a pleasure for the school to play a small part in helping to tackle the latest wave of the pandemic.”