Teachers and parents help get Finchingfield school back in shape after ceiling collapse

Children at Finchingfield Primary School went back after the Easter holidays to fresh new classrooms, painted in bright colours and with brand new ceilings in each one.

It was all very different to a month ago.

Staff were shocked last term, when on Monday, March 7 they opened up the school to find the whole place covered in dust. One of the ceilings had come crashing down over the weekend.

Headteacher Lisa Feldman said: “There were huge lumps of plaster. Thank goodness it happened at the weekend and the room was empty.

“We were told that we had to replace the ceilings in all three classrooms, so it’s been a lovely opportunity to recreate a fantastic learning space for the children.

She added “We were determined that the school wouldn’t close, so the whole team pulled together to create two classrooms in the hall and another one in our learning hub.

“I want to thank my staff and the parents for all the hard work they did. They spent the Easter holidays with paint brushes in their hands – and a lot of parents came round with cleaning cloths.”

The school, which has just 48 pupils and 11 staff, is Victorian. School secretary, Dawn Kennedy said the original ceilings had been lathe and plaster.

Mrs Kennedy said: “We had the roof repaired two years ago so the school was no longer damp. I think the ceiling must have just dried out to powder and fallen down. The building is 160 years old and we were told a lathe and plaster ceiling has a life of 75 years. But the redecoration has been a boost for everyone.”