School shut for at least six months due to cracks
GoogleA school which was built in 2016 and forced to close earlier this week after a "number of cracks" were found will now be shut for at least six months.
Prudhoe Community High School in Northumberland was shut on Monday and pupils were told they would not be able to return until 3 March at the earliest.
But following further checks, parents were told the school, which is run by the Cheviot Learning Trust, would be closed for "six to nine months as a minimum".
The trust's head Alice Witherow said the safety of staff and pupils was the organisation's "top priority".
The trust said engineers had found that the building, which was built at a cost of £14.6m, was "not safe to continue operating".
It said lessons would be taught online until another solution was found.
Options being explored include relocation and the construction of temporary mobile classrooms.
'Confident in school community'
Ms Witherow said she understood the anxiety the situation had caused particularly for those in their GCSE and A-Level examination years.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the parents, staff, and community members for their continued support during this challenging time," said Ms Witherow.
"The safety of our pupils and staff is our top priority, and while this situation is difficult, I am confident in the strength of our school community to navigate through it."
She said meetings would be held after the half-term break to share updates and address any concerns from families.
The school was built under the previous Conservative government's priority school building programme (PSBP), which has now been withdrawn.