'Light at the end of tunnel' after school closure

There is "light at the end of the tunnel" for parents and pupils of a primary school in Nottinghamshire after its sudden closure.

St Peter's C of E Junior School in Ruddington was forced to close in December after safety concerns were identified at the site, and pupils were sent to neighbouring schools.

Building work on a new, temporary "learning village" on the school grounds began in January and is expected to be open to pupils after the Easter holiday.

Pupils and parents say they are looking forward to returning to normality and seeing familiar faces again.

For eight-year-old Fern, the sudden change meant her usual short walk to school, became a bus journey to East Leake, a neighbouring village.

"When my mum and my dad told me about the school shutting and we would have to go to a new school, I was really upset.

"I was crying just because I love St Peter's so much because it's one of my happy places."

However, Fern said she was well-supported by teachers and welcomed the news that she can return to her primary school within weeks.

"I'm really happy and excited because my favourite thing is just being back at St Peter's and just all of us together," she said.

Fern's mother, Lucy said the closure was a "big shock" but added the community "pulled through".

Parents helped to raise money for equipment and toys for the pupils after they were uprooted.

"It's been hard because she's [Lucy] not just a stone's throw away anymore.

"It's been tough but there's light at the end of the tunnel."

She added she looked forward to getting back to "normal" and seeing "familiar faces".

Jesse Gray Primary School, in West Bridgford, was one of the schools which offered a helping hand to St Peter's, by taking on 95 of its pupils.

Head teacher of Jesse Gray, Chris Belton, said while the arrangement was "kind of chaotic" initially, the schools became "fully integrated".

St Peter's pupils have joined in with their adoptive school's assemblies, a school trip and its school disco.

"We're delighted to help out a fellow school," Belton said.

He added: "We've tried to treat it as a bit of adventure for the children really.

"The can-do attitude of St Peter's staff is really commendable.

"It would be nice to have the space back but you know what I think we'll miss them, we have made some new friends."

St Peter's head teacher Michael Bradley previously called the disruption to his school "the most difficult period of my career".

But with the new school site in touching distance, he said he was looking forward to "coming back home".

"We're still going to have a hall, a dining room, a kitchen, a computer suite, 12 classrooms, a dedicated space for nurture and SEN.

"So we're really excited and we think our children will really be able to flourish in there, just like they did in the old school building."

Nottinghamshire County Council said the long-term plan would be to demolish the current building and rebuild the school.

Wayne Bexton, director of economy, environment and assets at the county council, said: "The response from colleagues and the community to the closure of St Peter's has been remarkable.

"We are now on the verge of returning to a new purpose-built learning village just 12 weeks since the school was closed."

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