Broome Primary School students to return to historic campus next Monday

The historic school in the State’s North that was partially destroyed by an alleged arsonist will be safe for children to return to from next week. Broome Primary School students started Term 1 at the nearby Cable Beach and Roebuck Primary schools this morning, after a fire last month damaged an entire block of the grounds, including four classrooms, an office and storeroom. The Department of Education sent transportable classrooms for pupils to learn from last week, but a looming asbestos risk sparked by the fire meant it was unsafe for children to return to for the beginning of the school year. A statement released today said environmental experts had now given the school the all-clear to re-open this Monday. DoE Kimberley director Milton Butcher said testing had been completed before, during and after the completion of demolition works and had issued a clearance certificate over the weekend. “This is fantastic news,” he said. “Broome Primary School staff and students will able to return to school with confidence that it is completely safe and Australian Standards have been met. “Last week we had been hopeful that some classes might have been able to return later this week, but we know that the community expressed a clear desire for all students to come back to school together and that’s why they are returning on February 10.” The release stated contractors were working to finalise the installation of transportable classrooms and service connections, including power and plumbing. Broome Primary principal Jared Lawson said the school community was very excited about returning to the site. “This has been an amazing effort by all involved,” he said. “The students returned to class today for the first da of the year and were just as excited and eager as they normally would be and they are really looking forward to getting back next week.” Although it was yet to be finalised, the bill for damages were expected to be about $5 million.