Parton landslip school will not reopen in September

A village school near a major landslip will not be reopening in that building in September, the head teacher said.

St Bridget's Primary School sits beneath a hill which is causing concern in the village of Parton, Cumbria.

Fourteen homes have also been evacuated and authorities said it was unknown how long it would take to fix the hillside.

Head teacher Ruth Colley said another site was being sourced but there could be a couple of weeks of remote learning when the new term started.

"We won't be opening in September, however school will go on," Ms Colley, whose school has 99 pupils, told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"The hope is there will be a short, maximum of two weeks, period of remote learning and then we would be on a new site for face-to-face learning and the children can be back with their friends and teachers they are familiar with.

"We are really working very hard to think about how we make this a smooth transition for children and thinking about their wellbeing as well because it is a really big deal."

A number of families have been moved to temporary accommodation while more permanent plans were arranged.

"Risk to public safety remains and evacuation and road closures remain in place," a Cumbria County Council spokesperson said.

"We are not yet able to confirm how long these arrangements will remain in place due to ongoing survey work and monitoring of the stability of the slope."

A geological survey is under way to determine the extent of the damage and an alarm system has been installed to warn of future landslip dangers within the cordon area.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].