MOST of a secondary school will close for two weeks because of building safety concerns affecting hundreds of families.

Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School in Haworth Street, Oswaldtwistle, will not reopen after half-term ends on Monday except for its GCSE students.

The closure for urgent repairs follows the discovery of structural faults in two four-storey blocks housing the dining area and classrooms.

The work at the Lancashire County Council-run school which has almost 600 pupils is expected to take two weeks. Parents were informed of the closure on Wednesday.

Haworth Street will be shut on Monday from 9am to 3pm in front of the school to allow the delivery of equipment and temporary classrooms.

Oswaldtwistle’s county councillor Peter Britcliffe said: “This closure is a major concern.

“Rhyddings is the only secondary in the town and this will affect parents badly who will need to arrange for their children to be looked after.

“There must be major safety concerns to effectively close a school so suddenly.

“Parents need more information and I shall be asking questions at County Hall to find out what the faults were and what is being done to ensure the buildings are safe when the pupils return.”

A county council spokeswoman said: “The temporary closure is needed so that the frames of two of the school buildings can be strengthened. The problem was noticed during maintenance work.

“The building frames that need attention are in the east and west four-storey blocks, which house many of the classrooms and dining facilities.

“The provision of food at the school will also be affected. Pupils can bring their own packed lunch.”

Cllr Susie Charles, the county education boss, said: “I appreciate this is very disappointing news. I’d like to reassure parents we’ve done everything possible to avoid any closure to the school, but the reality is that we have no other option.

“We faced a very difficult situation, but the safety of our pupils and staff is always our most important priority.

“We will do our best to keep any disruption to a minimum whilst this repair work happens.

“We will also work with the contractor to make sure that the work is completed as soon as possible, so that pupils can return to school. We will keep people updated about this situation.”