HOLLYWOOD directors and a Booker Prize winner once walked the corridors of a school that has been earmarked for demolition.

With staff and students at The Grangefield Academy, in Stockton eagerly anticipating the completion of a brand new school building next year, a special day of tours around the current school was organised for former pupils to that they could reminisce over their childhood memories before the bulldozers move onto the site.

Over the years, its hallways and classrooms have been graced by thousands of pupils. In fact, the school can lay claim to educating some well known names too such as Hollywood directors Ridley and Tony Scott who have produced famous films such as Top Gun, Blade Runner and Alien.

Pat Barker was also a pupil at the school and she has become a successful award-winning author, winning the 1995 Booker Prize.

The Grangefield School and Technology College first opened its doors in 1951 as separate boys and girls grammar schools. Since then, the school has gone through a number of changes, most recently, in January 2014, it converted to an academy, sponsored by the Northern Education Trust. With the demolition of the original buildings, Grangefield Academy is now set to see another transformation.

More than 650 people turned up for the tours around the school and the chance to meet former school friends before ending with a display of old photographs. Almost 300 people signed up to become alumni of the school so that they can continue their association and to find out about what is going on in the future.

The Grangefield Academy has been successful in gaining funding for a total new building under the Government’s Priority Schools Building Programme and the construction of the new school is now well underway. It will open its doors in April next year and will also be available for use by the community on weekdays and weekends.

Sadly the existing buildings could not be saved due to their structural condition; however several features will be displayed outside the new school as a memory of former times.

Nikki Gibb, head of academy, said: “We are so excited to be getting a brand new, purpose-built school that although the event we organised for former pupils is undoubtedly full of nostalgia for some, for those who are teaching and learning in these buildings, it is really like reaching the end of a well-read chapter in Grangefield’s life.

“I am certain that many more memories will be made at the new academy when it opens its doors in April 2016 because it will provide a fantastic climate for learning and development – not just for our students - but for the community too, and then, the next exciting chapter in Grangefield’s life will begin.”