A SPECIAL school, which was established in Darwen 77 years ago, prepared for its last days with an emotional final presentation to children. Staff, parents and pupils packed Tullyallen School hall to look back at the last year and celebrate the future of its pupils.

The Salisbury Road school for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) will close its doors for the lst time at the end of the month.

Blackburn with Darwen Council will merge services with Bank Hey EBD school, Heys Lane, Blackburn, as part of moves to streamline special schools provision and integrate children into mainstream education. The new school will be known as Fernhurst, from September.

Jill Holman, headteacher at the school for 11 years, who retired in April and currently lives in Darwen, said: "It's very sad that the long tradition of Tullyallen is coming to an end.

"Our school motto is 'Like a Family' and I very much hope that the ethos of the school prevails after it's merger with Blackburn."

Pauline Geraghty, chair of the governors for six years, said: "There are so many children and families that have been through this system and it's sad for them as well as us."

Thirty-eight children with special educational needs attend the school five days a week, leaning national curriculum subjects while receiving special support for their conditions from the 16 support and teaching staff.

The Tullyallen site, which was established as an open air school as TB swept the country and became a school for 'delicate' children in 1926, will be transformed into the Sunnyhurst Centre for primary-aged children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Associate head Ian Maddison, who came to the school from Cross Hill special school, Blackburn, in January, said: "We have pupils coming back here all the time, telling us what they are doing.

"We recently had a young man who's joined the Army and he told us he wouldn't be where he is now if it wasn't for the school. So it's things like that that all the staff will look back on with a real sense of achievement."

Darwen MP Janet Anderson, said: "It's a wonderful place and it's very sad that it's closing, but at the same time, a new era begins and I hope that Tullyallen's traditions will continue into the future."