WORK has begun on a new £4.2million state-of-the-art teaching block for Todmorden High School.

Once constructed, by next spring, the two-storey building will replace the English and Riverside buildings at the Burnley Road site.

Their demolition will be followed by the creation of a new multi-use games area and car park.

Gill Shirt, acting headteacher at Todmorden, said: “This new facility will be a great resource for the school and we are very much looking forward to watching it grow over the next few months.

“I am so positive about the whole project.

"We are working closely with a fantastic team who are very experienced in building education facilities.”

Meanwhile most of the flat-roofed buildings within the remainder of the complex will also be stripped back and fully refurbished by contractors.

Cllr Megan Swift, children and young people’s services cabinet member at Calderdale Council, added: “This £4.2m investment by the authority is in addition to the £1mwe have already invested to improve existing school buildings.

“I’m looking forward to touring the school next year to see all the changes, once students have settled in.”