Just weeks before the festive break, the tight-knit community of Londonderry found itself grappling with an unexpected challenge: the sudden closure of Nazareth House Primary School due to serious concerns over the safety of its aging roof. The decision, announced on December 3, 2025, sent ripples of worry through parents, students, and staff alike, as the school—an institution nestled in the heart of Bishop Street since 1902—was forced to shut its doors until after Christmas.
According to BBC, the closure came after a recent inspection revealed that the school’s roof was unsafe. Principal Róisín Blackery shared on BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme, “We will not be under our roof before Christmas. The aim is that we will all be learning face to face together at the start of January when we return after the Christmas holidays.” Her words captured both the disappointment and the hope lingering in the air as the community adjusted to a Christmas season unlike any other.
Specialist engineers were back on site as of Monday, December 8, 2025, working to assess the extent of the problem and chart a path forward. In the meantime, the Education Authority (EA) assured families that urgent remedial works had been prioritized to enable the school to reopen as quickly as possible. The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) echoed this commitment, emphasizing its close collaboration with the Department of Education and the EA to find solutions.
As the school’s closure coincided with a period typically filled with joy and togetherness, the emotional toll was palpable. “It’s when we’re doing all the loveliest things and we’re connected and we’re joyful and we’re finding it very challenging at the moment to be apart,” Blackery told BBC. Yet, amid the disruption, the school community wasted no time in rallying to support its children. Plans were swiftly put in place to accommodate students daily at the nearby Bishop Street youth club, which would serve as a “well-being hub” from 09:00 to 15:00 GMT. “It’s not going to be a formal learning environment, it’s going to be as close as to what school feels like at this time of year,” the principal explained, aiming to preserve the spirit of the season even outside the classroom walls.
Despite the upheaval, cherished traditions would go on. The school’s carol service was set to proceed as planned, and thanks to the generosity of local businesses, pupils would still gather for a Christmas dinner later in the week. Blackery described the outpouring of support as overwhelming, saying, “I think when times get tough in Derry, you find that people really have your back.” It was a sentiment echoed throughout the city, where over half of Nazareth House’s 203 students hail from the Bogside, Bishop Street, and Brandywell neighborhoods.
But not everyone found reassurance in these stopgap measures. Parents, especially those of vulnerable children, voiced concerns about the impact of the closure on their families. Terri Lamberton, whose seven-year-old son Daniel has special educational needs, spoke candidly about her worries. “We’re devastated and concerned at how long this was going to go on for,” she said, according to BBC. The uncertainty, especially so close to the holidays, weighed heavily on many families who rely on the school not just for education, but for stability and support.
Behind the scenes, the CCMS, Department for Education, and Education Authority worked tirelessly to arrange supervised learning for families who needed it until the Christmas holidays. Their goal, as stated by the CCMS and reported by Derry Journal, was clear: “CCMS, Department for Education and Education Authority are working closely with the school to put in place arrangements for supervised learning for families who need it until the Christmas holidays and for all pupils to return to face to face classes in January.” The CCMS Chief Executive, Eve Bremner, even visited the Bishop Street school alongside senior Department of Education officials on December 5, 2025, underscoring the seriousness of the situation and the commitment to a rapid resolution.
Meanwhile, the EA’s maintenance service undertook a detailed assessment of the remedial works required to reopen the premises. Both the EA and CCMS stressed that these repairs were being urgently prioritized, with the hope that students could return to their familiar classrooms at the start of the new year. The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools confirmed, “The Education Authority (EA) maintenance service is assessing the remedial works required to reopen the school premises.”
The crisis at Nazareth House Primary School also sparked broader questions about the state of school infrastructure in Derry. In a speech to the Assembly, Sinn Féin MLA for Foyle, Pádraig Delargy, called on Education Minister Paul Givan to visit the school and address the community’s concerns directly. Delargy pointed out that Nazareth House was not alone—two schools in the city were dealing with collapsed or dangerously deteriorating roofs. He didn’t mince words about the need for urgent action, stating, “This should be a ministerial priority, the minister should be meeting with us as local elected representatives, the minister should be in Derry meeting with schools and the minister should be answering parents, giving them certainty on what happens next for the children of Nazareth House.”
Delargy’s remarks also touched on simmering frustrations over perceived disparities in funding. He referenced a recent controversy involving a fourth pitch being awarded to Lisneal College, another Derry school, suggesting that such decisions were not lost on families now grappling with basic safety concerns. For many in the community, the episode brought long-standing issues to the fore. Principal Blackery revealed that worries about the school’s building had been “an ongoing issue going back as far as the early 2000s.” In fact, the school had submitted a business case for a new roof to the EA in 2017, but, as she noted, it was “not actioned.”
With the Department of Education now asked for comment and pressure mounting from elected officials, parents, and school leaders, the situation at Nazareth House has become a focal point for debates over educational investment and infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The immediate priority remains clear: ensuring that the school’s roof is repaired and that students can safely return to face-to-face learning in January 2026. But the story has also sparked a wider conversation about how schools are maintained, how funding decisions are made, and what communities expect from those tasked with safeguarding their children’s futures.
As the holiday season approaches, the people of Derry have responded to adversity with resilience, generosity, and a sense of shared purpose. The halls of Nazareth House may be quiet for now, but the spirit of its community is anything but silent, determined to see its children back under a safe roof—and ready to learn—come the new year.
