A County Durham primary school tapped into the goodwill of its neighbouring secondary after a burst pipe threatened to send pupils home.

When Steve Whelerton, headteacher of Staindrop Primary School, answered the phone just five days after the summer holidays ended, he wasn’t expecting to be told: “We’ve got a bit of an issue. Half the school is underwater”.

It emerged that a pipe in the boys’ toilets had burst overnight, flooding four classrooms, the main hall, the kitchens, and the PE cupboard.

Steve said: “We were only five days into the new term after the Summer break, with new classrooms for all pupils so timing couldn’t be much worse. Pretty much all of Key Stage 2 was an inch underwater.”

The disaster was a devastating blow after staff were so recently celebrating the school's inclusion in the Sunday Times list of the country’s top primary schools.

Fortunately, nearby Staindrop Academy, a secondary school which is part of the Advance Learning Partnership, stepped in to help by offering their primary colleagues the use of four classrooms.

(Image: Advance Learning Partnership)

Sarah Mitchinson, headteacher of Staindrop Academy, said: “When Steve rang and told me what had happened, we were more than happy to help.

“We’ve always worked closely with Steve and the primary school to ensure there’s quality consistent education in Staindrop. Many of our students came from the Primary, and many families have children at both schools. We’re all part of the local community, and we want to support them as much as possible.

There was a silver lining to the disaster, though. “Now some pupils have visited the secondary early they’ve got a head-start on their transition days!” laughed Sarah.

“By meeting us and getting to know the school, I hope it will make for an even more seamless transition when they join us in Year 7.”

Steve added: “If it wasn’t for Sarah, we’d be struggling. She’s been absolutely fantastic to house us at such short notice.

“We’re not part of the Advance Learning Partnership, but that doesn’t matter, we have a shared culture and commitment to our community.”