FREEZING classrooms will be a thing of the past thanks to a £1 million cash pot to replace hundreds of a school’s original windows.

The money, which has been granted to Harwich and Dovercourt High School, comes from Education Funding Agency capital investment fund.

Current single-pane windows in the school’s main block, installed when the school opened in 1958, will be replaced to give the 20 classrooms new double glazed units.

The single-pane windows leave the school with temperature problems throughout the year - letting too much heat out in the winter and trapping warm air in summer.

There are also problems with damp when it rains.

Work, which will include a fresh lick of grey paint to the front of house, will start in July and is set to finish next February.

Steven Scott, the school’s operations manager, said: “We won the bid on terms of safety as the windows are in a terrible condition.

“When it rains there is damp, when it is hot the single glazing makes the classroom heat overbearing and when it is cold the classrooms are freezing.

“So getting this bid is the greatest thing that has happened at this school within the nine years I have been working here and will have such a superb impact on the classrooms in the main block.

“It will have a massive impact on the front of house for the school and will give the school a new perception and it will help pupils with their concentration in the peak temperature periods which before were unbearable.”

Rob Garrett, Harwich and Dovercourt High School headteacher, said: “The school has been successful in bidding for in excess of £1 million for condition improvements to its main block.

“This will see a vast replacement of single pane windows with double glazed units, including all associated decorating costs.

“This work will significantly improve the appearance, performance and structural integrity of the buildings.”