A SPECIAL school which was forced to close twice in two weeks after its heating works malfunctioned was due to have the system replaced until funding was scrapped, it has emerged.

Parents with youngsters at William Morris School, in Folly Lane, Walthamstow, were left fuming when repeated faults forced pupils to miss more than a week of education earlier this month.

But now the council has confirmed that funding earmarked from the axed Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme was due to be spent on the school's heating system along with other maintenance works.

The Government has said BSF was inefficient and have promised to fund a new scheme in its place, although critics are sceptical.

Parent Richard Burton, whose 17-year-old son Alex attends the school’s sixth form, said the revelation proved that fixing the water works should be a high priority.

He said: “I'd really like to see the school pushing the council for more help with this, but the school hasn't had much to say to us parents on the issue.

“A few years back there were plans to replace the school and combine it with Kelmscott school which would have put any ideas they had of replacing the heating system on hold. However that plan fell through and then recently we've had all these cuts, so the work has never been done.

“It's gone on too long. This needs to be done and we as parents need a guarantee that these closures won't happen again, but I don't think the school can do that. We just want to see it resolved.”

Several disgruntled parents at the school, which teaches around 130 pupils with various learning difficulties aged between 11 and 19, have contacted the Guardian saying the closures meant they were forced to take holiday time and even unpaid leave from their workplaces because of the short notice.

The headteacher of William Morris refused to discuss the issue with the Guardian.

But Waltham Forest Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, Cllr Saima Mahmud, said: "We never want to close schools, but our first priority has to be the safety and well-being of staff and pupils and the final decision to close rests with the headteacher.

"I would like to apologise to parents and pupils for any distress or inconvenience caused by this closure."

She said that the school's problems included the rupturing of corroded pipes and a utility supply problem, followed by further issues with its boiler.

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