A village primary school remains partly closed today (Friday, January 12) due to a boiler failure

Five Acres Primary School in Ambrosden, a village near Bicester, has partly shut today after a double boiler failure.

Reception and key stage one are closed while nursery and key stage two remain open, the council’s website said.

Headteacher, Darrell Wood has told parents engineers are set to fix the boilers today.

He said: "Unfortunately our heating engineers have been unable to resolve the issue with both key stage one boilers today.

"The required parts are on an overnight shipment from their depot and should be here to be fitted during the school day today.

"I am sorry to let you know that given the overnight temperatures the classrooms will not be suitable for occupation and so reception classes, key stage one and fireflies classes will remain closed on Friday, January 12.

"I am well aware of the inconvenience this will cause, but our priority is always the safety and welfare of pupils.

"We have looked at other options for heating the rooms and water, none of which are viable."

He added that pupils will be sent activities to be done remotely at home but said that these will not be compulsory.

Mr Wood also said that key stage two pupils with siblings in key stage one are still expected to attend school,

He said: "Just to be clear,  the rest of the school (heated by different boilers) will remain open, namely nursery and key stage two classes.

"Department of Education expectations are clear that in such circumstances all children in these open classes should be in school even if their siblings are not able to attend.

"Breakfast and after school club will be open for children in key stage two. 

"We will ensure that they are kept warm in a suitable environment.

"If your child had a place booked in either of these, your payment will be carried forward."

His message to parents ended in telling them that he expects the school will fully reopen on Monday, January 15.

He said: "Looking ahead, we have every reason to expect that we will be fully open again on Monday, January 15 as usual.

"Having said that, we are of course reliant on the heating engineers to complete their work successfully.

"I will keep you informed of progress, so please keep your eye on ParentMail over the coming days."

Yesterday (Thursday, January 11), water supply issues caused two Oxfordshire primary schools to fully shut.

However, both St John's Catholic Primary School and the Grange Community Primary School, which are next door to each other in Avecot Way, have reopened today.