Parents were told yesterday that Ardgowan Primary — which was due to reopen in a fortnight — will NOT be ready after yet another delay following an incident at the weekend.

An existing retaining wall outside the school collapsed and an investigation is now taking place.

Inverclyde Council education chiefs say no-one was hurt and stress that the wall collapse happened in an area away from where pupils would be. But officials admit they have no idea when the school will reopen.

Ward councillor Math Campbell-Sturgess has hit out at what is the latest in a long line of setbacks for the £4.5m refurbishment of the Newton Street building. He has also expressed concern at the nature of the incident less than a year after Edinburgh schoolgirl Keane Wallis-Bennet was tragically killed when a free-standing wall in her school’s gym hall fell on her.

He told the Tele: “It’s not as bad as it could have been but I’m concerned about the children’s safety. We want to avoid further delays but the children’s safety comes first. This is potentially not good at all — you seen what happened in Edinburgh last year.

“Safety has to be the number one priority and secondly we want the school opened. This has been dogged by delays — it’s a farce.” Cllr Campbell-Sturgess has called for a full inspection of the building — inside and out — to ensure the safety of pupils and staff who are due to move in.

He said: “I have called for a full inspection and there will be one anyway when the school is finished. I’ll be asking exactly what has happened.” Ardgowan head teacher Alison McLellan issued a letter only last month informing parents that the scheduled opening date — which would have been today — was being pushed back until 21 May because the contractor was ‘not in a position’ to hand over the building.

The project was initially supposed to be completed last summer but planning and design issues held it up. Now, in a new letter to parents, Patricia Cassidy, the council’s director of education, said: “Unfortunately there has been a development since Mrs McLellan wrote to you last, which will mean a further delay to the re-opening of Ardgowan Primary School.

“At this moment I cannot give you an exact date.

“Over the weekend an existing retaining wall next to the school collapsed. Thankfully no one working on the site was hurt during this incident. I am sure, like me, you will be very concerned at this news.

“While I am assured that the area in question is not a location where pupils attending the school would be, the repairs to the retaining wall are likely to take time to be completed and will therefore delay the return to the school.

“Early indications are that the structure of the school is unaffected by the collapsed wall, however we are awaiting further investigations into the incident and a timeframe for remedial works.

“Further detailed investigations will be taking place and after that I will be able to come back to you with exact dates as soon as I know.” In the meantime, staff and pupils will remain decanted at the former Sacred Heart Primary in Larkfield.