THIS week's stormy weather has forced a Swindon school to keep its pupils at home.

Even Swindon Primary closed on Wednesday and will remain shut until Monday for safety reasons.

High winds ripped nine metres of guttering from the rear of the school building and deposited it on the playground.

When the rest of the guttering was inspected it was found that other parts had become loose.

Deputy headteacher Colin Jones said: "We did have someone come in on Wednesday to try and start the repairs, but owing to the strength of the wind it wasn't safe.

"We have a total of 435 children in the school and they have all had to be sent home because it's just not safe.

"It's better to take precautions rather than let something unfortunate happen.

"It is an inconvenience to the parents but we're really grateful to them for their patience and understanding on the matter.

"We're having to bring in some heavy machinery to fix the situation.

"Sending the children home was the only option as having them around when that work is going on really isn't a good idea."

Despite the closure a planned school trip went ahead.

About 100 pupils from Years 3 and 4 went by coach to Gloucester to visit a museum and the docks.

The police helped deal with the traffic as two coaches manoeuvred on to the site, far enough away from the hazardous area, to collect the children,.

"It's been interesting getting these two huge coaches around the residential cul-de-sac," Mr Jones added.

"We've had to get the children to arrive at the Morrison Street entrance, take them through the main hall and then to the other side to the coaches so they could be kept from harm's way, just in case.

"We've even had to get extra staff to come in and help. No-one can use the car parks because of safety reasons and we have had to park on side streets."

Even Swindon Primary School opened in September 2007 after the former infant and junior schools were merged.