Orihuela City Council and the Valencian Government have agreed to install temporary classrooms for CEIP Virgen de la Puerta on the sports field of IES Las Espeñetas, reversing earlier plans for the displaced school community.
The move will eventually reunite the school’s 302 pupils, who have been split between schools in Molins and La Campaneta since serious structural problems forced the closure of the Virgen de la Puerta building.
However, the transfer will not be immediate. Installing enough prefabricated classrooms for more than 300 children is expected to take at least two months. The Generalitat must first award the contract, while the council will be responsible for preparing the site.
The decision followed a meeting involving Educational Infrastructure Director General José María Larena, Mayor Pepe Vegara, Education Councillor Vicente Pina and Urban Planning Councillor Matías Ruiz.
Under the agreement, the temporary school will occupy the secondary school’s sports field. A fenced section of the neighbouring Las Espeñetas Park will be used as a recreation area, while pupils will share the artificial football pitch with the secondary school under a coordinated timetable.
The choice has nevertheless raised questions because Las Espeñetas Park, immediately beside the proposed site, was previously rejected as a possible location because of the flood risk identified under the PATRICOVA regional plan. The area was also flooded during the devastating DANA of 2019.
The council’s announcement did not address those concerns or explain why the proposed transfer of Sareb-owned land in San Isidro has still not been completed. The media were not invited to question Larena directly following the meeting.
Officials later met representatives of the parent associations from the three affected schools to explain the decision and outline the next steps. Further meetings are promised, with the next scheduled for October 20.
Both administrations say they will accelerate the process to reunite pupils as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, plans for a permanent solution will continue, involving the demolition of the existing Virgen de la Puerta building and construction of a new school on the same site.
Larena said the immediate priority was to restore the school community’s unity and keep pupils within their familiar surroundings. Vegara said agreement on a location would finally allow the project to move forward and promised council cooperation to minimise the disruption.
