Jesmond Park Academy to reopen amid 'catastrophic' steel fall risk

It is still unclear when Jesmond Park Academy will reopen

A school facing the "catastrophic" risk of falling steel panels after high winds damaged its roof is to partially reopen.

Jesmond Park Academy closed after Storm Babet in mid-October with annoyed parents questioning the delay in bringing pupils back in to school.

The insecure panels were revealed as the reason for the ongoing closure.

It has now been announced the school, formerly Heaton Manor, will begin a phased reopening from next week.

George Snaith, chair of trustees at the Gosforth Group of academies, confirmed that a section of steel fascia from a walkway at the back of the school collapsed on 18 October.

Those steel panels run around the roof and Mr Snaith said that, after a survey was conducted, education chiefs "cannot be sure the building is completely safe".

"Steel falling from the walkway was serious; steel falling two stories from the main roof could be catastrophic."

The school has now confirmed scaffolding will be erected to protect walkways ahead of 36 classrooms opening on Thursday.

A further 26 classrooms will be available from Monday 20 November.

The school said it would let parents and carers know which pupils should return and when, along with updates on when the rest of the site would fully reopen.

'Kick in the teeth'

Bosses blamed the delay in providing information on "complicated legal relationships" with a PFI firm which built the Newcastle school.

Mr Snaith apologised for the prolonged closure and for the lack of detail being shared, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

He said "complicated legal relationships" meant the exact nature of the damage could not be disclosed until now.

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract still had six years to run, he added, meaning the school is effectively a "tenant".

Mr Snaith said the first inspections did not begin until eight days after the collapse and a report on the damage was not delivered until last Friday.

Parents were told the school's size meant finding an alternative location for teaching was "a huge challenge", but a number of alternatives were being pursued to get students safely back.

Jon Bryan, who has two teenage children at the school, said it was helpful to finally have some detail, but he called a refusal to hold a meeting a "kick in the teeth".

He added that families with children in exam years had been left "incredibly anxious".

Following questions over the building being reportedly opened for outside groups, including a planned model railway exhibition that has since been cancelled, Mr Snaith said this was in the hands of the PFI company.

He added it is "not under our control and certainly not a position that we agree with".

Mr Snaith said the Trust recognised concerns about lost learning and would help support any catch-up work needed.