Thanks to a generous donation from a now closed movie theatre in Vancouver students at the Southern Okanagan Secondary School will have new seating.

Nearly 400 auditorium seats will be given to School District 53 free of charge to help rebuild the school that nearly burned to the ground last summer.

School District 53 Vice Chair Sam Hancheroff says the donation was a fluke coincidence but adds the donation will help with the financial burden the district faces with the rebuild.

"Mitch Van Allen our director of facilities was in Vancouver at one of his meetings and at the same time talked to a person at the Denman Theatre Group and they were generous enough to donate a number of chairs from the Denman Theatre."

Hancheroff says the donation from the Denman Theatre comes with no strings attached.

"It's not going to cost us anything apart from the fact we are going to have to deliver them so that cost will be very minimal."

A blaze broke out at the school while it was undergoing a multi million dollar renovation and has seen been in the process of being rebuilt.

The school is expected to be ready for the September 2013 school year.

Anita Sthankiya -Penticton