A Radlett school is getting a makeover after volunteers from an energy company decided to don their overalls and freshen up the building.

Volunteers from EDF Energy are helping to redecorate The National Autistic Society (NAS) Radlett Lodge School and will spend today (Friday) redecorating eight classrooms.

The school, in Harper Lane, caters for 49 children with autism aged four to 16.

It is one of six autism-specific schools run by the NAS, the UK’s leading charity for people affected by autism.

The volunteers, led by Mark Bullard, EDF Energy’s head of market intelligence, will be joined by two of the charity’s own team for the decorating challenge.

Mark said: “It is great that so many staff have volunteered for the project.

“Quite a few new members of staff are joining in too.

“ We are treating this as a team-building exercise, so we will split our group into smaller teams to complete each room.”

People with autism may be over or under-sensitive to sound, smell, touch, taste and visual stimuli, for example particular colours.

To overcome these issues, the school has chosen a buttermilk-coloured paint.

Trevor Anderton, NAS director of fundraising, said: “We are extremely grateful to the volunteers from EDF Energy who are giving up their time to help redecorate the school. The newly painted classrooms will be ready just in time for the new school year.”