A SECONDARY school in York is having a final hurrah ahead of its closure.

Burnholme Community College, which currently has just 71 pupils, is planning an open day for pupils and staff past and present next month.

The school is due to close imminently after a phased reduction in pupil numbers over the last two years. Pupils leave next week with Year 9s to go to their new schools and Year 11s will only return to do their remaining exams.

For head teacher Simon Gumn, his staff and pupils at the school, the past two years have been business as usual.

He said: "As much as a school closure can be, it's been a positive experience. The students haven't been disadvantaged in any way. The Year 9s ave done well in their exams and the GCSE results are expected to be good.

"Every student has got somewhere to go and every member of staff who wanted to has gone on to get a job elsewhere. The local authority officers have been great in helping to get jobs for the staff here.

"I am already working as associate principal at Manor CE Academy and will continue there after the summer.

"I don't think any of us are going to forget this time."

The current head girl Jessica Williams, 16, had a tearful exchange with council leader James Alexander when the school closure was announced in 2012.

She said: "At the time, I was quite angry and I told him I wanted the staff and pupils to be treated fairly.

"I think we have been really and obviously now we are all upset that we won't have a school to come back to after the summer, we won't get to come back and see the teachers. It's literally one massive family here, I know it sounds soppy, but it's true."

Head boy George Leatt, 16, said: "People pay a lot of money to get a private education and have the kind of treatment we have had. Because there are far fewer of us, we have had a lot of one-to-one tuition. I will miss the teachers here, they always go the extra mile and have given up a lot of their own time to help us after school."

Jessica is going on to study A-levels at Archbishop Holgate's CE Academy and George is studying hospitality at York College.

On Saturday, June 21 the school is holding an open day for all former students and staff past and present who might like a last look around.

The event runs from 10am and people will be able to tour the building and take a final look before it is decommissioned.

There will be a closing ceremony at 1pm with a balloon release.

Mr Gumn said another lasting legacy of the school is that much of their equipment has been donated to a partner school in Uganda.