IT was the first day back yesterday for pupils at York High School’s new building.

The school is staggering the return-to-school process over three days because most of the youngsters had not been inside the £10 million building in Acomb, and yesterday it was the turn of the Year 11s.

Now the building is finished and ready to be occupied, each year group is being taken on a separate tour of the school. Year 9 and Year 10 were returning today. Year 7 were arriving back tomorrow, at 8.40am, with Year 8 returning at 11am.

Head teacher David Ellis said the pupils were going back to school on different days and at different times so there could be individual assemblies with each year group.

Mr Ellis said he was delighted with the new school, and pleased that the pupils were able to return this week.

“We’re really looking forward to the future and really taking full advantage of the new building that we’ve got,” he said.

On October 3 last year, a third of the building York High School was using as a temporary home, at the old Lowfield School, in Dijon Avenue, was devastated in a fire.