Waterton Junior and Infants School: Explore the inside of the abandoned Lupset school hit by blaze earlier this week

Waterton Junior and Infants School, in Lupset, has remained empty since its closure in 2011.

The small, community school dated back to the 1960s and had a capacity of 280 pupils.

However, the school buildings and facilities were deemed by the council as ‘too old’ and that they did not provide an acceptable learning environment for pupils.

Following this, the council chose to expand nearby Snapethorpe Primary School, relocating the pupils of Waterton to Snapethorpe Primary.

The school’s official closure date is listed as December 31, 2011.

Since its closure, curious locals and urban explorers have found empty mattresses and beds showing that whilst abandoned, the school has been lived in.

In 2024, plans were announced to bulldoze the school, with work set to begin in October last year.

However, the discovery of a bat delayed plans to demolish the derelict school.

Bats are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, therefore the government’s environmental body Natural England has to issue a licence to allow any work that might harm them.

Emergency services were also called to the former Waterton Junior and Infant School earlier this week, on Wednesday (March 18), after a blaze engulfed part of the building.

Take a look inside the old Waterton Junior and Infants School through these photos, taken by urban explorer, Lost Places & Forgotten Faces.