Emergency roof repairs shut Wootton school for eight weeks (From The Oxford Times)

Emergency roof repairs shut Wootton school for eight weeks

9:30am Thursday 7th March 2013 in News

A WEST Oxfordshire school is to close for eight weeks for emergency roof repairs.

Wootton-by-Woodstock Primary has been closed for safety reasons.

A crack appeared in one of the beams holding up the roof last week.

The beam is above the infants’ classroom and the crack has grown since it first appeared.

The Oxford Anglican Diocese, which owns the Grade II-listed building, is now arranging repairs.

Chairman of governors Jonathan Reynolds said: “The diocese has been fantastic in stepping in quickly and offering us advice on how to deal with it.”

Pupils last went to lessons at the school on Friday. Arrangements have now been made for them to be taught at the Marlborough School, in Woodstock, from Monday in a separate area cordoned off from secondary school students.

Children will get a bus from the primary school site and will arrive and leave at different times to their secondary school counterparts.

Mr Reynolds added: “It must be the first time a school has been moved in totality in Oxfordshire in a week. It’s massively inconvenient for parents to take kids out of school for a week.

“We have worked as fast as we can and the community has been fantastic in rallying round.”

School secretary Yolanda Blackford said: “Staff are getting ready to move out tomorrow.”