A North East school that has been shut since mid-October due to storm damage will start bringing pupils back into classrooms next week.
Leaders at Jesmond Park Academy in Newcastle have announced that some students will be returning to in-person lessons next Thursday, November 16, four weeks after the school was closed.
Meanwhile, a new image has revealed the scale of the damage that the building suffered during Storm Babet last month.
The photo, obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, shows a huge section of steel panelling that collapsed to the ground from a covered walkway – with children entering school also visible just metres away in the background.
Parents and local councillors have expressed frustration in recent weeks over a lack of information about the reasons behind the school closure.
The cause was finally announced on Thursday, with families told that there were concerns over a potentially “catastrophic” risk of more falling steelwork from the roof of the school.
But, in a new update issued to parents and carers on Friday, head teacher Steve Campbell has confirmed that some pupils can come back to school next week.
Students in years 11, 12, and 13 will return on Thursday, November 16, and have been prioritised as they are in exam years. Pupils on Educational Health Care Plans or on Child Protection plans will also be invited back.
Mr Campbell wrote: “As you will already be aware from the latest Gosforth Group update, we are now in a position to begin the process of re-opening Jesmond Park Academy. This is some welcome positive news in what has been an extremely difficult time for us all. We are continuing to do everything that we can to return our students as safely as possible to their learning on the school site.”
Pupils will enter the school via its main reception and will only have access to a section of the school – a wing of 36 maths, humanities, and languages classrooms, a designated dining area, and certain corridors.
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Mr Campbell added that the school hopes to have more classrooms open the following Monday, November 20, at which point Year 10 pupils would be invited back.
He added: “We will be in touch about specific arrangements for the return of additional year groups as soon as we have confirmation that the required work to facilitate their safe return has been completed. Similarly, as further work is completed around the site, we will inform you as soon as we can about the next steps towards the full return of students to the school site. Remote learning will continue for any students not in school.”
The school, which has more than 2,000 pupils, has been closed since October 19 and children have been learning from home ever since.
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