The handling of the crisis at CEIP Virgen de la Puerta has descended into a complete shambles, leaving more than 300 pupils and their families uncertain about where the new academic year will begin.
On Monday, just two days before pupils were due to return, families were reportedly informed that the ageing school building faced imminent closure. The proposed solution was to distribute its 302 pupils between schools in Molins and La Campaneta.
Such a substantial relocation, particularly as the following day sees all government offices closed for a public holiday, would normally require detailed preparation. Classrooms would need to be identified, transport arranged, dining services expanded and teachers informed. Instead, the announcement came immediately before Tuesday’s municipal holiday, leaving barely any time to organise the upheaval.
Parents understandably protested outside the school, while the STEPV teaching union demanded an urgent solution. Concern also spread to Molins and La Campaneta, where questions were raised over whether their schools possessed the space and resources to accommodate hundreds of additional pupils.
Following that pressure, the situation changed dramatically. Orihuela City Council announced that urgent repairs and technical checks were being completed so that the children could begin the school year in their existing classrooms after all.
That sudden reversal raises serious questions. If the building was considered unsuitable on Monday, how could it potentially be declared safe for more than 300 children by Wednesday? Alternatively, if repairs completed during the summer were sufficient to allow its temporary occupation, why were families told at the eleventh hour that pupils would be transferred elsewhere?
The council says municipal teams have worked throughout August, repairing and reinforcing pillars affected by cracks and exposed steelwork. Technicians have also examined other parts of the building and are preparing a report on whether it can be used temporarily.
Mayor Pepe Vegara, Education Councillor Vicente Pina and Urban Planning Councillor Matías Ruiz met families on Monday afternoon to explain the work undertaken and the options being considered. Officials stressed that any continued use of the school would be temporary.
Yet none of this explains why families were confronted with two conflicting scenarios within hours. Nor does it excuse the lack of a clear contingency plan covering transport, meals and classroom capacity if relocation became necessary.
The problems at Virgen de la Puerta are hardly new. The school opened in 1972, and parts of the building have reportedly required structural support for decades. STEPV warned in January about serious structural, hygiene and safety deficiencies, while the council had reportedly held a document since November calling for immediate action.
A study commissioned in January 2025 also concluded that a new school should be built because fully renovating the existing property would be excessively expensive. Despite those warnings, the authorities reached the final hours before the new term without a settled arrangement.
The longer-term proposal is to purchase Sareb-owned land in San Isidro, prepare the site and install prefabricated classrooms. Pupils would remain there until a replacement CEIP Virgen de la Puerta could be constructed.
That plan may offer a way forward, but it does nothing to disguise the confusion surrounding the start of term. Families deserve more than contradictory announcements, hurried inspections and improvised decisions made under pressure.
Above all, they deserve confidence that decisions involving their children’s safety are based on proper technical evidence—not administrative panic or the intensity of public protest. Whether pupils remain at Virgen de la Puerta or move elsewhere, the authorities must publish a clear safety assessment and explain how the situation was allowed to deteriorate so badly.
