An old school ended up in such a shocking state it began slipping down a hillside.

It was also riddled with asbestos and crammed with twice as many pupils it was meant for.

Hence the formal opening of the brand new £25.5 million set of Dover Grammar School for Boys buildings.

The new facilities, which can take 900 pupils, boast carpentry workshops, food technology rooms, art rooms, laboratories, computer hubs, a gym, sports hall, activities room for weight training and an outdoor sports court for games such as basketball and tennis.

Speaking at the opening of the new centre, Les Craggs, governors' chairman, said the new buildings were essential.

He said: "The builders told us that the old school was slipping down the chalk hillside.

"It would have taken huge amounts of money to underpin it to keep it still going.

"The classroom were below the regulation size for a modern school and facilities were quite dangerous.

"The buildings were riddled with asbestos and there was decay."

The old centre had been opened in 1931 and at that time asbestos was used for fireproofing.

It has long been banned since inhaling the dust was found to cause conditions such as cancer.

But people at this site were kept unharmed while it was kept sealed, which continued until the old school's last days of use.

The school was only meant for 400 pupils but ended up with about 850 at most with the extra youngsters having to spill out into extensions, adaptations and mobile classrooms.

Mr Craggs added: "One of the biggest criticisms I had for the old site was how poorly supplied young people were for PE and sports and yet had such a good reputation in those practices."

The new centre was paid for by the Department for Education's Priority School Building programme.

Kent County Council gave planning permission for it in December 2019.

Construction took place from June 2020 and pupils were able to move into it this year.

The old centre is expected to be demolished by November 2023.

Yet its most treasured artefacts have already been salvaged and brought to the new centre such as the 1932 pipe organ, honour boards and stained glass windows.

Maurice Smith, now aged 88, was an engineering teacher at DGSB from 1959 to1989, then a supply teacher until 2001.

He said in his speech at the opening ceremony: "The new buildings offer wonderful new opportunities for a wider curriculum.

"We celebrate all the new opportunities that the present generation will have in it.

"I count it a privilege to have been part of this school family for the last 63 years and hope to continue to offer something useful in the future."

Headteacher Philip Horstrup said: "Dover Grammar School for Boys now has facilities which are fit for 21st century learning.

"My colleagues and I will take full advantage of every opportunity these new facilities will give us, for the benefit of those we serve, the students of Dover Grammar School for Boys."

Mr Craggs, Mr Smith and Mr Horstrup all formally opened the school by unveiling a plaque.

The previous centre, at Noahs Ark Road, was opened by Prince George who later became the Duke of Kent.

Former pupils, known as Old Pharosians, were invited to visit it for the final time on September 25 last year. More than 1,100 turned up.

High on a hilltop, it was for 91 years one of the Dover's most visible structures, overlooking both the town and port.

Dovorians, particularly across the valley in the Clarendon, Westbury and Maxton neighbourhoods, can now see the new centre right in front of it, in place of a playing field lower down the hill.