ASBESTOS found in the roof of a York primary school has delayed the start of term and will see some pupils spending weeks in temporary classrooms.

Poppleton Ousebank School has sent letters to parents informing them that their children would be unable to return to the school this week, and must now wait until Monday until the traces of asbestos are cleared from the lower school.

The letter, from head teacher Estelle O’Hara reads: “This is not the ideal way to start the year but the safety of the children is paramount.

“I realise that news of the presence of asbestos in school is worrying but all steps are being taken to eliminate any further risks.”

The discovery means that about 100 lower school pupils will now have lessons in temporary classrooms situated in the staff car park.

Mrs O’Hara also wanted to assure parents that the disruption would not affect their children’s schooling.

“We still have access to all our resources,” she said. “This is the best solution at the moment and it’s only going to be like this until half-term.”

The problem came to light during work on the school’s roof over the summer holidays and follows an almost identical situation at the same time last September when traces of the dust were found during roof work.

A spokesman for City of York Council said: “A project to re-roof the Poppleton Ousebank School has been delayed while asbestos insulation boards are removed from the ceilings.

“It has now been agreed that the opportunity should be taken to remove all of the asbestos insulation boards from this site before work to re-roof the school can be completed. This action will result in a delay to the completion of the works and alternative arrangements are being made to ensure that the school can reopen on September 6.”