Roof collapse closes school
AN infant school where the ceiling collapsed will remain closed for the rest of the week.
The incident happened at St Thomas’ in Heaton Chapel, Stockport, when the ceiling of the hall collapsed on Friday night, hours after those attending a club had left.
School bosses said on Monday that the safety of children and staff is ‘their overriding concern’ and have brought experts in to assess the damage.
The collapse came as Storm Callum hit, bringing trees down in parts of the region.
However, St Thomas’ leaders have confirmed the issue was not caused by inclement weather and say there is no structural issue with the building.
It has emerged there was a second ceiling collapse just a matter of months ago, this time in the school kitchen.
However, the school’s leadership say the two incidents were ‘completely separate and unconnected.’
St Thomas,’ a voluntary aided school part of the Manchester Church of England diocese and rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, expanded around three years ago, creating a new site for junior pupils on the old Peel Moat Recreation Centre Site on Buckingham Road.
Infants remained at the building on the A6 Wellington Road North and it is that building where the damage has been caused. The Junior school was unaffected and will remain open.
Structural engineers have been called in to the Infant site to determine the cause and assess the damage of Friday’s incident.
They say it will now remain closed until after the half-term break, which starts next Monday, October 22.
In a message on the school’s website chair of governors Richard Bates and headteacher Mrs K Morris said: “We would like to reassure you that everything possible is being done to evaluate the current situation and to check the safety of the school hall.”