Demolition work is to be completed later this year at two old school sites in Hartlepool after staff and pupils moved to new premises.

High Tunstall College of Science and English Martyrs School and Sixth Form College both received new builds as part of the government priority school build programme, announced in 2016.

High Tunstall received planning approval for the work in early 2018, with building work completed in November 2019.

The new £17m state-of-the art facility opened that month which replaced around three quarters of the existing High Tunstall school site on Elwick Road.

Areas that have remained at the school include the student support centre, and plans have been approved for a sports changing facility to be built as an extension to the site.

The second phase of works has now begun, which involves the demolition of the old school buildings.

Plans were approved in December last year for an artificial 3G floodlit football pitch to be created on land made available through the demolition of the school buildings.

Speaking at the planning meeting, Mark Tilling, headteacher at High Tunstall, said the facilities will help keep members of the community ‘safe and healthy’.

He said: “This gives us the opportunity to develop the fantastic facilities we offer to young people in the community that we serve.

“The artificial grass pitch will be used for both youth and women’s football, but we also want to engage with the older generations with walking football and disability sport through other organisations.”

It is expected the demolition will be complete and land converted by the end of November 2020, according to council officers.

Likewise, English Martyrs also received planning approval for the new school building in early 2018 and works were completed and the new buildings opened in September last year.

Parts of the old site are now being reduced to rubble, with work underway on the demolition, and it is expected to be completed and the land converted to turf by July 2020, according to council officers.

English Martyrs’ newer Sixth Form building is being kept as well as music and arts departments and some mobile classrooms.

The updates were provided in a Children’s Services Committee report from council director of children’s and joint commissioning services Sally Robinson.

She said: “Both new schools are now occupied.

“The second phase of the works have now begun. This involves the demolition of the old school buildings.

“It is expected phase two will be completed and the land converted to playing field by the end of July 2020 for English Martyrs and November 2020 for High Tunstall.”