School closes temporarily due to safety concerns about the roof.

A Londonderry primary school has been temporarily closed after experts raised safety concerns about its roof. The Education Authority (EA) confirmed on Wednesday that Nazareth House Primary School on Bishop Street would remain shut while inspections and evaluations continue.

Principal Risn Blackery explained in a video message that specialists had assessed the roof and found it unsafe. "As soon as I heard about the risks, my first concern was the safety of all our children," she said. "The building experts will need to conduct further checks before we can ensure the environment is safe."

She added that significant meetings were scheduled with senior education officials to determine the next steps and to plan for a safe reopening of the school as quickly as possible.

The EA stated it is prioritising urgent repairs to allow the school to reopen. "Unfortunately, this highlights ongoing disruptions to education caused by deteriorating school infrastructure," the authority noted.

The EA also expressed serious concern over the growing backlog of maintenance and repairs in Northern Irelands schools due to limited funding. "Given current budget constraints, only emergency maintenance can be carried out," a spokesperson said. "Without a substantial increase in funding, school facilities will continue to deteriorate, risking further interruptions to classes."

Author: Harper Simmons