School share ‘a wonderful solution’ for pupils

Plans for a return to face-to-face learning for pupils of a Londonderry primary school which closed due to concerns about the safety of its roof have been welcomed by the principal.

On Friday, the Education Minister Paul Givan set out plans that will see Nazareth House Primary School share a site with nearby St Anne’s Primary School.

Nazareth House closed on 3 December after an inspection of the roof found that it was unsafe.

Principal Róisín Blackery said the return to classroom learning could not have come at a better time and was “a wonderful solution for us”.

“Nothing beats a classroom in a school,” she told BBC Radio Foyle’s North west Today programme.

“A school is the right place for continuity of learning, our children need that more than ever.”

She said the “feeling of displacement” had been very difficult and something no school should ever have to endure.

“I hope it never happens again.”

The two schools will return to the St Anne’s primary school site on 7 January 2026.

The temporary arrangements will remain in place while “urgent remedial works” are carried out to make the roof of Nazareth House safe, Givan said on Friday.

The aim is to have the Nazareth House school community return to learning on their own site by half-term break in February 2026.

St Anne’s principal Eilis McGuinness said her school community was “very open to the idea” of sharing when they were approached by last week by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS).

“It will work as two schools in the one site,” she said, “so Róisín will very much lead her school and I will continue to lead St Anne’s.

“Each class will stay the same and they will be taught in their classroom with their teacher.

“It will be tight, but we will clear eight rooms so that Róisín’s staff will be with their pupils and our staff will remain with theirs.”

When Nazareth House closed, Mrs Blackery told the BBC she had continually raised concerns about the structural safety of the 122-year-old building over the last 20 years.

She said the school submitted a business case for a new roof to the Education Authority (EA) in 2017, but it was “not actioned”.

On Friday, Givan said he shared the “understandable frustrations” of the principal and the wider school community.

“Years of under-investment in our ageing school estate have left us facing difficult decisions and in this case, the only option was to temporarily close the school.”

Last week, Nazareth House pupils came together to enjoy Christmas lunch at a hotel in Derry.

They are also currently making final preparations this week for the annual carol service and nativity play.