Inside abandoned school filled with piles of books, gym gear, and a picture of the Pope

The derelict school in Merseyside had its classrooms closed four years ago due to financial difficulties but everything from gym equipment to Buddha statues got left behind

Discarded pictures of the Pope in the female changing room and a dead crow were among the unusual discoveries made by an urban explorer visiting an abandoned school.

Shuttered four years ago due to “financial pressures”, a video shows what a closed high school in Merseyside looks like without any pupils.

The eerie scene looks almost as if the students are coming back, with microscopes still out on tables in the science labs and treadmills left behind in the gym.

Chris Maybury, 31, from Oldham published videos showing the interior after his trips to Clarence High School in Formby, a commuter town near Liverpool.

When it was open, Clarence High provided educational placements in Merseyside for girls and boys aged 7-19-years-old who had social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

After the decision was made by operator Nugent Care in summer 2018 that the school was no longer financially viable, classrooms were locked.

From the footage taken by Mr Maybury, who is known as Razor Twisted Exploring, very little has changed in the 52 months since any pupils were last taught there.

According to the Liverpool Echo, Mr Maybury first visited the school building on Saturday November 12, 2022, with two friends.

They came across a sports hall and changing rooms “cramped with all sorts of stuff” such as abandoned PE kits, DVDs, football boots and a working treadmill.

A video posted on YouTube on November 24 shows they uncovered a framed picture of Pope Francis, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, while taking a look in the girls’ changing room.

There was a statute of the Buddha left behind in one classroom cupboard.

They also found a dead crow lying around the school and filmed themselves using a gym trolley to wheel themselves around the premises.

Elsewhere, tubs of strawberry ice cream remained in the freezer of the school kitchen.

The explorer then returned to the high school for a second time on Sunday November 20.

But this time, Mr Maybury — who is also a vocalist in a heavy metal band — discovered the building had been “trashed”.

It is thought that the damage to the school was caused by vandals between his two visits.

Speaking to the Echo, Mr Maybury said: “On the first experience, it felt like a time capsule that had been put on pause and if someone were to press play there would be life in it again.

“But on the second visit, it was just a dull feeling when you were walking through.

“The place had been trashed and was just going to ruin.

“Tiles from the ceiling were broken and in some areas we walked through water, it seemed someone had flooded some of the classrooms.

“We came to realise that it was a burst pipe in one of the rooms on the upper floor.

“It’s heartbreaking for the local community and their history.”

Urban explorers have a reputation for uncovering what abandoned properties look like.

However, entering a privately owned property or site is considered trespassing, which is a civil offence in the UK.