AFTER 48 years, Castlebrook High School will be no more after next Wednesday. It will close its doors for the last time before it becomes the new £12 million Unsworth Academy in September.

Today we hear from former pupils and staff who have nothing but positive memories of their alma mater.

Colby Horridge's fondest memory is of his old headteacher, Mr Roberts.

"He took me under his wing. He wasn't just a head teacher but someone you could go to when you wanted a rant. He never gave up on his students and he saw potential in everyone. Due to him believing in us all I'm now currently serving in the British Army looking forward to the future. Mr Roberts taught me the values of what being a good honest person was."

Lisa Conway attended the school between 2005 and 2010 and is indebted to teacher Mr Hewitt.

"He genuinely cared and wanted the best. I’ll never forget the conversations we had where he would encourage me to do better. Now, I have my own business and always wonder what I’d be doing now if it weren’t for the persistence of Mr.Hewitt just generally not giving up ."

The school also played a significant role in the lives of Deborah Spark and Darren Nield. They were among the second cohort and were both in form 1N

"I always fancied Darren and used to write his name all over the inside covers of my school books," said Deborah, who last month celebrated 32 years of marriage to her schoolgirl crush.

The school is a familty tradition for Janet Grimshaw. She was a pupil, as were her three children and her grandaughter, Lorena, starts there in September.

Former teacher Kath Mawdsley, nee Roache served at the "wonderful place" from 1973 to 2011.

The hugely popular character was behind the school's legendary historical festivals which covered everything from the Ancient Greeks to the 1920s. As head of drama she was also responsible for the many school productions.

For them and many thousands of others their time at there was one of the happiest of their lives.