Children face nine-mile round-trip to nursery after school damaged in fire
Scottish Borders Council's HQ is also being converted into temporary classrooms to accommodate pupils...
Last updated 20 hours ago
Children in Newtown St Boswells face a nine-mile round trip to Earlston to attend nursery after the summer holidays - after their school was damaged in a fire last month.
Scottish Borders Council has revealed part of its nearby headquarters will also be converted into temporary classrooms for older pupils, while the primary in Sprouston Road is made safe.
Earlier this week, we reported temporary toilets and power generators are being drafted in to ensure a community fundraiser can go-ahead at the school this weekend.
And now education chiefs have confirmed it won't be ready to reopen for the start of the new term on August 19th.
"The main damage is at the front of the building," the local authority's Director of Education Lesley Munro told Greatest Hits Radio.
"But, essentially, the smoke has gone right through the building, so we've a significant amount of cleaning to do, so that can be ready for children to go back into a clean, safe environment."
The council has not yet been able to confirm exactly when pupils will be able to return to the school, although Ms Munro said the disruption is likely to continue for several weeks.
"We've made arrangements for nursery (pupils) to be taken care of at Earlston Primary nursery, and the children from primary one to seven will be moving into the building at headquarters, into a safe secure space that we'll set up as a school," she added.
"We've written to parents to let them know."
And she added: "We've got a meeting later on this week to talk through all the questions and all the details about that."
READ MORE: High praise in Hawick as pupils receive their exam results
Police have confirmed a "male youth" has been arrested in connection with the blaze on July 25th.
When asked how long the disruption is likely to last, Ms Munro replied: "We've not got a clear indication at the moment, it's likely to be several weeks. But we're waiting for our estate's team to be able to give us a really accurate picture."
Meanwhile, the community's being praised for rallying round to ensure this Sunday's family fun day can go ahead.
"The parents and the families in Newtown, (and) the head teaching staff have been fantastic about helping us to make this recovery programme happen," Ms Munro said.
"And I know that the school are really grateful for all the messages that they've had of support, and offers of help from the community."
For more stories from the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland, bookmark our home page - https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/borders/news/