Bishop Feild not likely to reopen this year, structural review won't be finished until February

It is "unlikely"that students will return to Bishop Feild Elementary School this year, according to the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD).

In a memo released Friday, the district said Nova Consulting has been hired by the Department of Transportation and Works to undertake a structural assessment of the building, after part of the gym ceiling collapsed earlier this fall.

That assessment won't be finished until the end of February and will require the removal of some of the ceilings in the school.

"It is unlikely that students, teachers and staff will return to the school during this school year," writes Lucy Warren, associate director of education of the NLESD in a memo to parents.

"The safety of the school community remains the priority of both the District and the provincial government," she added.

The timeline that NLESD officials are now highlighting is one many parents have suspected all along.

Part of the gym's ceiling collapsed on Oct. 24 and an initial report in the days following warned there are "several other areas of concern" when it comes to ceiling corrosion in the downtown St. John's school.

Samples taken from the gym ceiling showed "advanced corrosion," while samples from classroom ceilings varied and even "disintegrated into a dust form," according to the report.

Bishop Feildstudents have been accommodated at the former School for the Deaf, on Topsail Road.