Bid to build replacement for closed school
BBCThe government has been asked to pay for a new building for a primary school deemed unsafe for children.
Mowbray Primary School, in Stakeford, Northumberland, did not reopen its doors after the Christmas holidays due to structural concerns.
Engineers discovered cracking and wall movement in the 1920s-built building had become "widespread and progressive", with pupils having since been relocated to a temporary base a few miles away at Foundry House in Bedlington.
Northumberland County Council has now confirmed it has lodged a bid for funding to build a replacement school.
County Hall bosses expect to find out in spring 2027 whether their application to the government's School Rebuilding Programme has been successful.
The council's executive director for education Audrey Kingham told councillors on Wednesday she would "wait with bated breath" to find out if the Department for Education would back the project.
Speaking at the authority's corporate services and economic growth scrutiny committee, she also confirmed a contingency plan would be developed for next year's council budget to provide an alternative option if the bid was rejected.
The council later told the Local Democracy Reporting Service pupils were expected to remain at Foundry House until Easter 2027.
It added insurers for the school had been investigating and monitoring the cause of the cracking.
