Hundreds Of Pupils Still Not Back At School

Extended holiday for some as building works over-run

Ealing council say they're disappointed that building work at
two local schools has over-run, leaving pupils with extended summer holidays.

Term should have begun for most students this week, but some schools have been forced to stay shut or delay opening.

800 pupils at Fielding Primary have been told to stay at home until next Monday because a classroom for 30 extra students is not finished.

Meanwhile at Little Ealing primary, 500 students started back today- two days later than planned - because a new classroom was not finished on time.

The affected schools are building extra classrooms to cope with a huge rise in pupils.

London Councils is warning 28,000 new primary places will be needed in London by 2014/15, at a cost of at least £480million.

A spokeswoman for Ealing council said: “We are disappointed our contractors have not been able to complete the works in time, but we would never allow pupils to return until we were completely satisfied the site is safe.

“We know this will cause disruption and are working closely with the builders to ensure schools can reopen as quickly as possible.”

September 6th, 2010