HUNDREDS of people are expected to turn out for the opening of a £5.5 million school building project in York tonight.

Parents, pupils, present teachers and ex-teachers will join governors, councillors and officials at the opening of the new school building at Huntington School at about 6pm.

The school, which teaches 1,510 youngsters, has long campaigned to replace 30-year-old rotting mobile classrooms, whose state was branded "scandalous" by head teacher Chris Bridge.

The new block houses a performing arts studio, teaching classrooms and music rooms, as well as a youth centre.

The school had the task of raising £800,000, which it achieved by storing up cash from previous years' budgets, and also through fundraising activities.

In addition, it secured £2.6 million in Government funding to replace the old classrooms, while City of York Council provided £1.5 million.

Mr Bridge, said: "Tonight marks a watershed in the life of the school. The nine mobile classrooms that have been washed up at the back of the school like so many beached whales have now gone.

"The Press joined us in our campaign to get rid of these appalling buildings. When it came to it, they didn't take much knocking over. A great mechanical arm swiped them sideways and they just folded up and were carted away.

"Now we have a wonderful new building which is for the community and for the school. It comprises a drama studio and a dance studio, a community refreshments area, four history classrooms, three music classrooms and a range of practice rooms and offices. It also has a proper dry recording studio.

"All spaces have been made flexible so that the two studios double up as a theatre and a separate classroom block has all high-quality moveable internal walls so that it can be four classrooms or three or two or a single large examination space."

The new building is sited to the right of the present entrance to the school, and will provide an attractive new focus for pupils and visitors.

It promises to provide facilities for a new and much better youth club, with a possibility of the youth club using the drama facilities as well as a public performance space on the ground floor.

The new facilities will be available for public use, and will be open from 9am to 10pm on weekdays, and from 9am to 4pm on Saturdays.

The official opening ceremony will be carried out by City of York Council's current and former education chiefs Coun Carol Runciman and Coun Janet Looker who were instrumental in securing funding for the new build along with Ryedale MP John Greenway.