 Pupils had left the school for the Christmas holidays but the adjacent new school they were due to move into, Sir Thomas Wharton Community College, was not directly damaged.However, the fire happened on the day they were due to move into the new school, and their move was delayed because of the need to check for asbestos contamination from the fire.The Edlington (Yorkshire) Land and Development Company Limited, and the partnership which preceded it, was responsible for building a substantial part of the colliery village of New Edlington between 1909 and about 1922.