A COMMEMORATIVE plaque has been unveiled at Golborne High School to remember those lost to a mining pit tragedy in 1979.

The plaque was unveiled by headteacher Mrs Gormally and Golborne Ex-Miners secretary, Eric Foster BEM as part of the grand opening of the high school's 'Centenary Block', which includes a new auditorium and six new classrooms.

The plaque will remain in the auditorium as a constant reminder of the area's industrial heritage and the men who were killed and injured in the Golborne mining disaster on March 18, 1979.

Leigh Journal: The Centenary Block was unveiled on March 30The Centenary Block was unveiled on March 30

Ten men were killed and many others seriously burned and injured after an explosion at Golborne Colliery in 1979, with a methane-ignited fireball shooting along an underground tunnel.

Impressed by the school's expansion, Mr Foster also stated how proud he was that the school remembers Golborne’s heritage and memory of the ten men who tragically lost their lives in 1979. 

Leigh Journal: The plaque was part of a new expansion at Golborne HighThe plaque was part of a new expansion at Golborne High

Mrs Gormally said that she believed Golborne High’s future is "rooted so much in Golborne’s legacy" and wants pupils to hold the same values of "resilience, determination, courage and community".

The schools expansion will help to accommodate more pupils and enable its growth as a "beacon of higher education" in the area.